


Playing with Fire

by BeccaAnne814



Series: Bucky Barnes x Reader Series [10]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Blood, F/M, Fires, Fluff, PG-13 sexual situations, cursing, lying, smoke inhalation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-12-12 14:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 59,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11739264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeccaAnne814/pseuds/BeccaAnne814
Summary: What happens when two people who have nothing in common suddenly have to pretend to be in a relationship?  Will the sparks between them ignite into something more, or is this romance doomed to crash and burn?  Fireman!Bucky Barnes x Reader





	1. Summary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sgtbxckybxrnes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sgtbxckybxrnes/gifts).



YN is a Public Relations Specialist with Stark Industries in Brooklyn, New York. She readily admits that she has some OCD tendencies, but that's what makes her so good at her job. Her boss, Tony Stark, has decided to take the company public and this couldn't have come at a worse time for her - her roommate and best friend, Jemma Simmons, has decided to move in with her fiancé, Leo Fitz, and now YN needs to find a new place to live.

Bucky Barnes is the Lieutenant in charge of Rescue Squad 3 at Firehouse 51 in Brooklyn, New York. He's lucky enough to work with his best friend, Captain Steve Rogers, who just happens to be in charge of Truck 81, which also operates out of Firehouse 51. Steve and his girlfriend, Peggy Carter, have decided that it's time for them to move in together, so Bucky is also looking for a place to live.

YN needs a new apartment. Bucky needs a new apartment. It seems like a great idea for the two of them to move in together, right? There's just one catch - they'll have to pretend to be dating to snag the best brownstone in Queens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'm so excited for you guys to read this story! I've been working on this all summer long and it's finally ready for your reading enjoyment! This one is a long one - 25 chapters! I truly hope you enjoy reading this one and I look forward to all of your comments!_
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> _**Playing with Fire will update every Wednesday morning at 5am EST.** _


	2. Part 1

YN knew the minute she walked up the steps to the parlor floor of the brownstone in Queens that this was the place she wanted to live. Her realtor had told her about the Open House being held this evening and she'd tried to leave work a little early to stake her claim, but of course, that hadn't happened. The owner was taking applications from 4:00 – 6:00pm and according to her watch it was already 5:45. The rent was a little out of her price range, but she was sure that she could find some other single ladies to split the four-story building with her, if she wasn't too late to get her application in.

The entrance opened into a small foyer with a set of stairs leading up to the second floor, and toward the back were the stairs leading down to the ground floor. She went through the doorway on her left, briefly stopping to inspect the glass paneled French doors. They looked to be original to the house and that made her even happier.

The living, dining, and kitchen areas were set up in an open floor plan that created an illusion of space in the narrow building. The floors looked to be the original oak and had been sanded and refinished to a warm shine. The kitchen was completely up to date with all new stainless steel appliances, light oak cabinets and a dark black granite countertops, complete with a range-topped island. There were a few people milling around the kitchen which started to make her nervous.

She backtracked to the stairs and ran her hand along the smooth wooden banister as she ascended to the second floor. She was pleased to find two suites on this level, each one having it's own sitting room or office off of the bedroom. There was only one bathroom on this floor, so her two potential roommates would have to share that. The washer and dryer had been moved to this level, so that would save her a trip down three flights of stairs to do her laundry each week. As she pulled back the shower curtain to inspect the tub, she overheard a man and a woman discussing the pros and cons of the building.

"I know you think it's beautiful, David, but it's just so old!"

YN turned around and saw a buxom blonde in her mid-twenties holding onto the arm of a man who looked old enough to be her father through the door of the back bedroom.

"It's a historic brownstone, Piper," David explained. "It's supposed to be old."

Piper thrust her bottom lip out in a pout as she whined, "It's so far away from Manhattan, when will I ever see you?"

David began to look around nervously as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Catherine is already getting suspicious. There are too many of her friends in the city, someone is bound to see us there and tell her. Anyway, this is three times the size of any apartment in the city I could get for the same price. Think of all the room you'll have out here."

YN didn't stick around to listen to the rest of the conversation, completely disgusted at the idea of a lying, no good cheater renting this place for his side piece. As quietly as she could, she snuck down the hall and up the stairs to the top floor. Walking into the bedroom, she couldn't contain her gasp of pleasure. Just like the parlor floor, the master suite had an open floor plan that spanned the entire length of the building. There were two skylights in the ceiling and she could just imagine herself laying in bed and staring up at the sky above her before she fell asleep each night. She was so in love with this place that she was willing to sell her soul to rent it, and that was before she saw the bathroom.

The owners must have torn down some walls to create this heavenly room. From her assessment, the bathroom must have taken up a fourth of the top floor and had an entrance from both the bedroom and the stairwell. In the back alcove was what looked to be the original claw foot tub, and to the right was a two-sink vanity and walk-in shower with the toilet tucked away behind a low wall. She could spend the rest of her life in this bathroom and never miss the outside world.

Making up her mind, she decided to seek out the owner and put her application in immediately. She didn't care how far out of her price range this place was, she just had to have it. She spun around on her heel and barreled right into a solid wall of muscle. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, YN would have fallen flat on her butt, but his equally muscular arms wrapped around her waist as he helped her regain her balance.

Her hands hand instinctively come up to grab ahold of his shoulders and the feel of his hard body under the long sleeved t-shirt he was wearing sent a flame of desire shooting straight through her. She looked up to thank the stranger for saving her, but once she made eye contact with him, she was struck completely speechless.

He was tall, about six feet, with thick, dark brown hair that made you want to bury your hands in it. His chiseled jawline was covered in a thin layer of stubble, but it was his eyes that had completely captivated her; blue-grey and lined with long, thick lashes that any woman would kill for, and these little laugh lines in the corners that grew deeper as his smile grew wider. Thinking about his smile drew her eyes down to his lips, and she couldn't stop her tongue from darting out to sweep across her own as she imagined what it would be like to be kissed by that sensual mouth.

"Oh, my!" a woman said from the doorway. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two."

YN's gaze was drawn away from the sexy man, who still held her in his arms, by the sound of the woman's voice. She was probably in her late forties or early fifties, with long brown hair, and thick framed glasses perched on the end of her nose.

"You're not interrupting, ma'am," the gentleman said.

Hearing his voice had drawn her attention back to him as he gave her a wink. If it wasn't bad enough that he was as gorgeous as sin, he also had a voice that made her weak in the knees; a rich baritone that carried a hint of laughter.

"Handsome and polite," the lady remarked. "I'm May Parker and this is my brownstone. Are the two of you interested in filling out an application?" She didn't wait for answer, but continued to talk, her excitement evident in the tone of her voice and the way she clasped her hands together. "You're the first young couple I've seen all afternoon and I just had my heart set on renting this place to two lovebirds. My late husband's brother and wife bought this place when they first got married, and I guess I'm just sentimental."

YN tried to move out of the stranger's embrace when she realized the woman's misconception about the two of them, but his arms were like steel vices around her. If she were being honest with herself, she really wasn't in a hurry to have him let her go, but Mrs. Parker needed to know the truth about the situation.

He looked back down at her and cocked an eyebrow in apology before turning back toward the other woman. "Yes, my girlfriend and I are interested in renting the building, Mrs. Parker."

 

* * *

 

 

 _Here's a[link](https://www.elliman.com/new-york-city/87a-guernsey-street-brooklyn-dhsbyin) to the brownstone that inspired this story._  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 1 of this story! What did you guys think about that twist at the end? I hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to your comments!_


	3. Part 2

YN managed to shimmy out of the sexy man's embrace as she struggled to regain her composure.  She gave him a disapproving glare before turning to Mrs. Parker to explain the confusion, but before she could say anything, the other woman was speaking again.

"Oh, are you a firefighter?" she asked him, pointing toward the logo on his t-shirt.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.  "I'm with Squad 3 over in Brooklyn."

YN's impression of the man continued to improve despite the blatant lie he'd just told.  She took a moment to reconsider her options.  She obviously wanted this brownstone, and he appeared to be interested as well.  She was going to advertise for roommates, so why not share the place with a fireman?  He seemed to be a nice gentleman, and Mrs. Parker's reaction to them had given her the impression that they were shoe-ins to get the place.  Was it worth losing this amazing place over one little white lie?

"What's a Brooklyn boy like you doing over here in Queens?" she asked with amused shock.

He gave Mrs. Parker a smile that had YN's knees going weak.  "My firehouse is only about ten minutes from here, so I thought, I mean we thought, it was worth a look."  

He turned that heart-stopping smile on her as he reached for her hand, his eyes begging her to go along with his lies.

She leaned into his side, her hand coming to rest on his chest as she began to play her part.  "I've been a Brooklyn girl all of my life as well, but like. . ." She froze for a moment as she realized that she had no clue what his name was.  Thinking quickly she kept on talking, ". . .my boyfriend, my workplace is close by as well and this place just seemed too good to pass up."

"Where do you work, . . .?" she began to ask, pausing when she realized that she hadn't gotten either of their names.

"It's YN," she answered as she looked toward the man beside her, hoping he would take the hint and tell them both his name.

"And I'm Bucky," he said, much to YN's relief.

"I work for Stark Industries over in Brooklyn," YN said.

Out of nowhere, a boy of about fifteen popped his head into the door. "You know Tony Stark?  I've seen some of his tech, and he's amazing."

Mrs. Parker jumped as the young man came up behind her.  "I'm sorry, YN, this is my nephew Peter.  He's obsessed with technology and idolizes Mr. Stark.  This was actually Peter's parents' home before they passed.  He moved in with me and my late husband, and we've been renting this place ever since."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your parents, Peter," YN said with genuine sympathy.

"It's alright," Peter told her.  "They died a long time ago, and since Uncle Ben passed, it's just been me and Aunt May."

"I don't know what I would have done without Peter after Ben passed," Mrs. Parker told them. 

Peter leaned over and gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek.  "I've got some homework to do Aunt May."

"Okay, Peter, I should be done in just a few minutes," she told him as he began to leave.  "I just need to get YN and Bucky's information and then we can go home."  Turning back to them she asked, "Why don't we go back down the kitchen and you two can fill out the application?"

Bucky continued to hold her hand as they followed Mrs. Parker down the two flights of stairs to the parlor floor and back to the kitchen.  She opened a file folder that was sitting by the stove and handed them an application and a pen.  Bucky gave her a look that indicated that she should start filling out the information.

"So, tell me how you two met," Mrs. Parker prodded as YN began to fill in her personal information.  

Bucky looked at her in panic, and after noticing the logo on his shirt, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "My building was on fire."

Jumping right in, Bucky continued, "She was trapped on the top floor and I had to carry her down the stairs."

Mrs. Parker seemed to be eating it up, so YN kept going.  "When we got outside, I asked him how I could ever thank him."

Bucky looked down at her with an expression that could only be described as love.  She was becoming quite impressed with his acting skills and gave him a loving smile worthy of an Oscar.

"I told her the only thanks I needed was a chance to take her out for dinner."  He ran a finger down her cheek and it was everything YN could do not to break out laughing at his ridiculous answer.

"It was love at first sight, Mrs. Parker," YN concluded as she wrapped her arms around one of his biceps.

Mrs. Parker looked as though she was going to cry.  "How romantic, and please call me May.  You two are the sweetest couple I've ever met."

YN finished filling out her half of the form and slid it over to Bucky so he could write in all of his information.  Taking Mrs. Parker by the arm, she led her out of the kitchen, peppering her with questions about the woodwork.

Mrs. Parker took the form from him and told them that once she had her lawyer look over their information, she would call them and let them know when they could move in.  Bucky took her hand again as he led her down the steps to the sidewalk, pausing to wave goodbye to May as she shut the door.

She and Bucky continued to walk down the street, hand in hand, until they were out of eyesight of the brownstone.  Dropping his hand, she turned toward him and raised one eyebrow in question.  "What just happened back there?"

Bucky ran his hand through his thick, dark hair and gave her a chagrined look.  "I helped guarantee that we would get that amazing brownstone?"

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she considered her next words carefully.  Opening her eyes, she found him staring at her with a look of hope on his face.  "You think pretty quickly on your feet, Mr. . .?"

"Barnes," he supplied with a smile, "but please call me Bucky.  Can I call you YN?"

She let out an exasperated huff.  "Well, seeing as how we're going to be living together, it only makes sense to be on a first name basis."  She looked up and down the street before nodding toward a coffee shop a few yards away.  "Why don't we go grab a cup of coffee and figure out how we're going to make this work?"

Bucky nodded and motioned for her to lead the way.  She turned away from him and had only taken a few steps before slipping on a patch of ice.  Bucky's arms were around her again as he saved her from falling for the second time that day.

She had been on her way to the ground when he'd caught her, so she was almost parallel to the sidewalk as he held her in his arms.  She looked up at him to thank him, but the look of desire in his eyes had her mouth going dry.  She knew her eyes were a mirror of his as her gaze was once again focused on his lips.

He gave her a cocky grin as he helped to right herself, his hands sliding down her sides to rest on her hips.  "First things first," he said as he pulled her body closer to his, "we need to acknowledge the fact that we're obviously attracted to one another."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 2 of this story! Do you think it's a good idea for them to have lied to May to get the brownstone? How do you think they're going to handle the obvious attraction they feel towards one another? I look forward to your comments!_


	4. Part 3

She took a step back from him as she tried to get her emotions under control.  "Look, Bucky, I'm sure you're a great guy, but I'm just not interested in a relationship right now.  Stark Industries is about to go public and things are going to be crazy for me professionally once that happens."  Her gaze hardened as he raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief.  "Plus there's the fact that we're going to be living together.  It's not a good idea for us to become involved."

He let out a huff as he began to shake his head at her.  "I'm not proposing marriage, sweetheart.  I just thought we could enjoy one another's company on occasion."

His words had anger coursing through her veins and made her start reconsidering their arrangement.  "First things first, we need to get out of the cold and then we can set down some ground rules."  She didn't wait for him to respond as she turned on her heel and all but marched toward the coffee shop.  Her attraction to him was a huge problem for her, and if she wasn't careful, all of her carefully laid plans would be ruined by this sexy, blue-eyed man.  It was better to focus on her rules than her hormones.

She was standing in line, looking up at the menu when she felt him come up behind her.  He placed his hands on her hips as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.  "Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are when you're angry?"

She whipped around and glared at him, ready to rake him over the coals when the barista called for her to place her order.  Absolutely seething at his sexist remark, she smacked his hands away from her and walked toward the counter.

She placed her order and was just about to swipe her credit card, when he interrupted.  "These will be together.  I'll have a regular cup of coffee, nothing fancy."

He didn't give her time to protest as he leaned around her to swipe his credit card.  Placing a hand on the small of her back, he led her toward the opposite end of the counter to collect their drinks.

"Will you stop putting your hands on me?" she hissed at him.

He gave her that cocky smile before picking up their drinks and walking away from her.  She wanted to walk out of the door and never look back, but she thought about that brownstone with it's beautiful kitchen and the skylight above the bed.  Knowing that she'd never find a better place, she resigned herself to dealing with this insufferable flirt.

He sat at a small table by the window and waited for her to take her seat before he began talking.  "I'm sorry," he began, completely throwing her off guard.  "I guess I just got caught up in the whole fake dating thing and took it a step too far."

She narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to determine if he was being sincere or was just playing her.  Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, she leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her coffee.  "Apology accepted."

"So, how is this going to work?" he asked once he realized that she'd forgiven him.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I never really see my landlord that much at my current place.  I figure it'll be the same with May.  When she's around, we'll act like a couple, but for the most part, we can just be roommates."

Nodding his head in agreement he said, "Good point.  So, now for the fun part."  He rubbed his hands together as though he was excited to get down to business.  "Who gets what?"

"I'm willing to pay 60% of the rent if I can have the top floor," she bargained.

"Why the top floor?"

"Honestly, I'm in love with the bathroom and the skylights," she answered.  "You can have the entire second floor, with the exception of the washer and dryer.  I suggest we create a schedule for laundry so that neither of us have to fight over the machines."  She was on a roll and kept going through her mental list, ticking off each item on her fingers.  "We'll also need a schedule for kitchen use, as well as cleaning the common areas.  It's winter right now, but once the weather gets nice, we'll trade off weekends using the outdoor space."

"Do you ever relax and just let things work themselves out?" he asked with a wry smile.

She took a deep breath as she decided how she wanted to answer him.  "Listen, Bucky.  You and I are complete strangers and this obviously isn't the arrangement either of us had in mind, but it's what we've got and if we're going to make this work, we need to have boundaries."

He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out the best way to reason with her.  "I get that you like rules, but. . ."

"Do you have rules at the firehouse?" she asked, interrupting him.  "Doesn't everyone there have specific jobs to do to ensure that things run smoothly during an emergency?"

"Well, yeah, but that's at work," he argued.  "This is home.  Besides, I'll hardly be there when you are.  We work 24 on and 48 off, so I don't get a full weekend off work but every once in a while.  We might be there at the same time during the evenings, but you'll have your floor and I'll have mine.  We'll hardly see one another."

YN considered this information, but she was still determined to get her way.  "I get that you have an unusual schedule, which is why I think we need to make one of our own.  If I know that you're going to be home, and you want to have a friend over, I can make plans to either be out for the evening or just stay on my floor."

His eyes grew wide before he hung his head, his thumb and index finger pinching the bridge of his nose.  "You want me to schedule my sex life with you?"

"That's not what I meant," she said.  He gave her a hard look which had her squirming in her seat.  "Okay, so maybe that's what I was implying, but is it really that unreasonable of a request?"

"How am I supposed to know when I'm going to get laid?"

His voice had risen a few decibels and YN anxiously looked around the crowded room to see if anyone was paying attention to them.  Dropping her voice down to a whisper she said, "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Why would you think I have a girlfriend?" he asked.

"Look at you," she said, her hands outstretched toward him for emphasis.  "You're good-looking, you're a fireman, you seem to be a decent human being – for the most part.  Why wouldn't you have a girlfriend?"

"You're going to make me blush, YN," he said with mock chagrin.  "I can admit that I'm a decent catch, but to be honest with you, most women can't handle the job."

She cocked her head in confusion.  "What do you mean?  Most women dream of dating a fireman."

He let out a sigh as he stared down into his coffee.  "They think they want to date a fireman, and then the realize that our job isn't always saving kittens from trees, or helping old ladies cross the street.  There are times when our lives are at risk, and the hours we pull make it hard to make plans.  Most of the girls I've dated have been really sweet about the breakups, but it still hurts when someone you care about tells you that they can't stand the sleepless nights anymore, that they can't live their lives wondering if they'll never see you again."

All of her anger toward him evaporated in an instant.  "Oh, Bucky, I'm so sorry.  I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must be for you."

He waved away her pity and fixed a fake smile on his face.  "It's a hazard of the job.  All of the guys warned me when I first started, but I thought I could handle it, that I would find someone who would understand how important my job is to me.  Anyway, this conversation got way too serious, so why don't we get back to our living arrangements."

She shook her head in agreement, but his words continued to invade her thoughts.  There was obviously more to him than she'd realized, and she knew she was going to have to be careful around him.  He was just the kind of guy she didn't need in her life right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 3 of this story! Do you think she's going to be able to resist his charms for long? Would you want to date Fireman!Bucky, or is the reality of a fireman's job too much for you to handle? I look forward to your comments!_


	5. Part 4

They hadn't stayed at the coffee shop much longer, but YN made sure that they exchanged numbers before they left.  Once they got the okay from May, they would need to coordinate their moving dates.

YN got a text from May on Thursday congratulating her and Bucky on getting the apartment and she squealed in excitement.  Her friend Daisy happened to be walking by her office and overheard her.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Daisy asked as she plopped down on the small love-seat by the window.

"I just heard back from my new landlady, and I'm cleared to move into my new brownstone this weekend," YN told her.  "You and Lincoln are still going to help me move, right?  Jemma and Leo already said they would."

"Jemma said something about you getting your own place.  It sucks that she and Leo are kicking you out." 

"They're not kicking me out, Daisy," YN explained as she rolled her eyes. "They'll be getting married soon, so it only makes sense that they live together.  I'd feel like a third wheel living with them, so I decided to find something on my own."

"Jemma said this place was a dream.  How are you going to afford it?"

YN gave her a chagrined look.  "I might have agreed to share the space with a roommate."

"Who?" Daisy asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"Okay, don't overreact," YN began, "but there was this guy there looking at the building the same time I was.  May, the landlady, thought we were together and decided to rent to us because she thought we were a cute couple."

"Okay," Daisy said as she sat up straight on the love-seat.  "Let me get this straight.  You not only pretended to be dating some random guy to get this place, but now you're planning on living with him?  Have you lost your mind?"

Listening to her phrase it like that had YN rethinking the entire arrangement.  "He seems like a nice guy. . ."

"So did Ted Bundy, and look how that turned out!"  Daisy ran her hands down her face as she shook her head at her friend.  "I would have expected this from Jemma – she's way too trusting, but you?  I thought you had more sense than to move in with a guy you just met!"

"Okay, now I'm starting to get worried," YN admitted.  "Maybe you could do a background check on him and see if he's an okay guy?"

"Do I look like the police?" she asked, one eyebrow raised sarcastically.

"No," YN said with a hopeful smile, "but you are the best hacker I know, so. . ."

"Reformed hacker," Daisy clarified pointedly before she caved. "Ok, fine, let's go."  

Daisy rose from her seat and began walking out of the office.  YN was quick to follow her, both excited to find out more about Bucky and terrified that she might learn something she didn't want to know.

Once Daisy was behind her computer she looked back at YN and asked, "Okay, what's his name?"

"Bucky Barnes."

She swiveled around in her chair so fast, YN was knocked off balance for a second.  "Seriously, YN?  Where did you find this guy, some backwoods hollow in Hicksville?"

YN pursed her lips as she glared down at her friend.  "It's obviously a nickname, Daisy.  He's a fireman over at Squad 3 in Brooklyn.  Their website should have his real name."

Daisy turned back to the computer with a huff and began searching for Bucky's real name.  "James Buchanan Barnes.  Huh, his mom must have really loved the 15th president."  YN gave her a look of disbelief.  "Sorry, I had to memorize all of the presidents in Junior High and it just kinda stuck."

Daisy went back to searching for dirt on Bucky, reading aloud as she found interesting bits of information.  "Born March 10, 1982, never been married, never been arrested.  Hmmm, this is interesting."

"What?" YN asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"It says that he received the Fire Commissioner's Award for Valor, for Service Above and Beyond during 9/11."

"So, basically you're saying he's a hero," YN prodded.

Daisy turned back to look at her friend.  "I'm saying you lucked out this time.  This Bucky fellow seems to a decent guy from his digital footprint, but for all you know, he may leave dirty dishes in the sink and pee all over the toilet seat. . ."

YN rolled her eyes and shook her head.  "The main thing is that he's not a serial killer, Daisy.  If he has some bad habits, I'll just train him."

"He's not a dog, sweetie," Daisy said as she began to chuckle.  "It's been way too long since you've dated.  You also forgot to mention that he's gorgeous as sin.  All in all he seems like a good guy, but there has to be a reason why he's still single and willing to pretend to be dating you to get this brownstone."

"Yes, he's extremely good-looking, but we're just going to be roommates," YN assured her friend as she thought about the conversation she'd had with Bucky a few days ago.  She wondered if one of his breakups had happened after 9/11.  Suddenly, she had a new respect for what Bucky did for a living.  Pulling out her phone, she sent him a quick message.

_We can move in this weekend.  I'll take Saturday am, you can have Saturday pm to move in.  Sound good?_

YN was about to put her phone away when she saw the three blinking dots signaling that he was responding.

_Sounds good.  We work tomorrow, so we'll all be off on Saturday.  See ya later, roomie_

 

When Bucky had gotten to work on Friday morning, he immediately went in search of his best friend, Steve.  Steve was the Captain of Truck 81 which shared Firehouse 51 with both Squad 3 and Ambulance 61.  They were a tight knit group of friends that had been working together for longer than Bucky cared to remember.

Bucky found Steve in his office, going over some paperwork.  "Hey, punk, gotta a favor to ask."

Steve turned around and gave Bucky a questioning look.  "If you're going to ask me to pose for another calendar, I'm going to have to say no."

Bucky's face broke out in a huge grin as he remembered Steve's last calendar photo.  They'd teamed up with the Humane Society and each firefighter had posed with a dog.  Everyone else had gotten big dogs like German Shepherds or Mastiffs, but Steve had gotten stuck with a pair of Pomeranians and he'd yet to live it down.

"It's not a calendar," he assured his friend.  "I got the okay to move into my new place tomorrow. You and the guys said you'd help me haul the furniture over, right?"

"Sure thing, Buck," Steve said.  "You said this place had a great outdoor space, right?  It's supposed to be pretty mild tomorrow.  How about we grab some steaks and cookout after we get you moved in?"

Bucky nodded his head in agreement.  "That sounds great, just make sure you bring an extra steak for my new roommate."

Bucky tried to slip away without Steve asking too many questions about his new living situation, but he wasn't that lucky.  "Wait a sec!  What new roommate?"

Bucky ran his hand along the back of his neck as he gave Steve a hesitant grin.  "Her name is YN, and we're kinda pretending to be dating so the landlady would rent the building to us."

Steve looked at him like he'd grown a second head as he started peppering him with questions.  "Who is YN?  Why haven't I heard about her before?  Why are you pretending to be dating?  Wait, why are you moving in with a woman you're not dating?  You were engaged to Dot and you wouldn't even move in with her."

"Are you finished, or is there anything else you'd like to know?" Bucky gave Steve a chance to continue, and when Steve gestured for Bucky to take the floor, he took a deep breath.  "Okay, here's the short version.  The landlady found the two of us together in the bathroom. . ."

"Wait!" Steve interrupted, holding up a hand and trying not to burst out laughing.  "Please tell me you weren't having sex with some random girl in the bathroom of a building you were trying to rent?"

Bucky gave him a menacing glare.  "As I was trying to say, YN tripped and I caught her.  May came in at that moment and thought we were together.  She hinted that she was looking for a young couple to rent to, so I told her YN and I were dating.  I didn't plan on saying that – it just came out.  YN went along with the story and after we talked about it, we decided that sharing a four-story building wouldn't be that bad."

"Is she pretty?  Is she interested in you?"  When Bucky didn't answer, Steve finally lost it, letting out a deep throaty laugh that had him throwing his head back and grabbing his chest with one hand.  "I never thought I'd see the day!  Bucky Barnes is going to live with a woman, and he's not even sleeping with her!"

"What's this about Bucky moving in with a woman?" Rhodey, Truck 81's Apparatus Operator, said as he popped his head around the corner.

"It's going to be all over the House before too long, Buck," Steve said when Bucky hung his head in frustration.  "Might as well get used to the ribbing."

"What do we know about this girl?" Rhodey asked.  "Is she pretty?"

"What is it with you two?" Bucky asked.  "Why does it matter if she's pretty or not?  We're roommates, and that's it!"

"She is pretty," Steve surmised, "and she's not the least bit interested in you, is she?"

"Okay, fine," Bucky said, throwing his arms out in frustration.  "She's an absolute knockout, and no, she's not interested in me.  To be honest, she's a bit of a stick in the mud, going on and on about house rules and how important her job is because her boss's company is going public the first of the year."

"Oh, I see," Rhodey said.  "You're interested in her, but she shut you down.  That must a first for you, Barnes.  Where did you say she worked?"

"Um, I think it was Stark something," Bucky answered.

"Stark Industries?" Rhodey asked, perking up at the information.  "I know the guy that runs that company, Tony Stark.  We grew up together.  He's a good guy, a little egocentric, but if your girl works for him, then she's on the up and up."

"What do you mean?" Bucky asked.

"You did run a check on this girl, didn't you?" Steve asked, annoyed when Bucky shook his head.  "Seriously, Buck?  How did you know this girl wasn't a serial killer, or some kind of crazy stalker?"

"You didn't meet her, Steve," Bucky argued.  "YN's a nice woman, a little OCD, but she's not a serial killer.  You'll see when you meet her tomorrow."  Turning back to Rhodey, Bucky asked, "You and the rest of the crew are going to help me move tomorrow, right?  There's grilled steaks involved."

"I'll spread the word," Rhodey assured him as he set off down the hallway.  

Bucky looked back at Steve who was looking at him worriedly.  "What?"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Buck."

Bucky sighed as he thought about the way YN had smiled at him that day in the brownstone.  For a minute, he'd actually believed the lie that they were a couple.  "Me too, buddy, me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 4 of this story! What did you think of Daisy's assessment of Bucky? What did you think about Bucky's final admission to himself? I look forward to your comments!_


	6. Part 5

Daisy and Lincoln arrived precisely at 7am to help YN move her belongings into her new brownstone.  YN had already picked up the U-Haul truck and had it sitting out front, waiting to be loaded.

"I asked Mack and Elena to come help, too," Daisy said when YN opened the door.

YN gave the couple a grateful smile.  "Oh my gosh, it's so nice of you guys to come!  This won't take any time at all now."

Mack was a huge man, over six feet tall with biceps so big Elena couldn't wrap her hands around them.  He and Lincoln barely broke a sweat as they carried YN's couch and bedroom furniture down the three flights of stairs to the moving van.

Between, Leo, Jemma, Elena, Daisy, and herself, they had all of the boxes loaded into the truck in less than an hour.  Lincoln had offered to drive the truck with YN and Daisy, while everyone else followed in their own vehicles. 

When they pulled up in front of the brownstone, YN was dismayed to see another U-Haul parked right in front of her building.  When she saw Bucky walking backward out of the van holding one end of a couch, she gave him a dirty look.

"Hey, it's fine, YN," Lincoln said.  There's an empty spot up ahead, I'll just park there.  It's not that far away."

"I'm going to kill him," she told Daisy who was sitting in between her and Lincoln.  "I told him that I was moving in this morning."

"It'll be fine, YN," Daisy said as she laid her hand on YN's knee.  "It'll be a little crowded on the stairs, but we'll make it work."

Once Lincoln had parked the van, YN jumped down from the cab and walked back toward the brownstone.  Bucky was just coming back down the stairs to grab another load with a tall, good-looking blond close behind him.

"I didn't think you were moving in till this afternoon, YN," Bucky said as he reached the sidewalk next to her.

"No, I told you I would take the morning and you could have the afternoon."  She was trying to keep her temper in check so she wouldn't make a scene in front of everyone.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he pulled his phone from his back pocket.  He scrolled through his texts and she could tell the exact moment he realized his mistake.  "I'm so sorry, YN.  I totally misread your text."

"Don't worry about it, Bucky," she said with a dejected sigh, as all of her anger faded away.  "We'll make it work somehow."

"Hi, YN," the blonde said, sticking out his hand.  "I'm Bucky's best friend, Steve."

YN reached out to take his hand, a genuine smile on her face.  "It's nice to meet you, Steve."  She gave him a questioning glance.  Did Bucky tell you. . .?"

"Yeah," he interrupted with a laugh, slapping Bucky on the shoulder.  "I thought the two of you were crazy, but then I saw this place.  I'd pretend to be dating Bucky if it meant I could live here."

YN immediately liked Steve, he was extremely friendly and seemed to be a really nice guy.  The rest of YN friends came up behind her, so she began making introductions.  Bucky's other friends and coworkers started coming out of the brownstone and soon the entire front stoop was full of people shaking hands and exchanging names.

YN learned that Steve was the Captain in charge of Truck 81 and Nat, Scott, and Rhodey all worked with him.  Wanda and Vis were the paramedics on Ambulance 61.  Sam, Clint, and T'Challa were all on Squad 3 under Bucky's command.  Their Fire Chief, Phil Coulson, was on an ice fishing trip with the Battalion Chief, Nick Fury, so he couldn't help with the move.  There were a lot of people to keep track of, but that was what YN was best at.

"Well, this looks like a party!" a voice said from behind YN.

She turned around and felt her stomach drop.  Her new landlady was right behind her.

"Bucky, honey," YN said loudly, "look who's here!"

Bucky turned around, a confused expression on his face at the term of endearment she'd used.  When he spotted May, he immediately threw his arm around YN and plastered a smile on his face.

"May," he said.  "This is a pleasant surprise.  I didn't think you'd be by today."

"You didn't think I'd be. . ." she began as realization dawned on her face.  "Oh, did I forget to mention that Peter and I live next door?"

YN's heart began to race and she could feel Bucky tense up at this newfound information.  "No, you didn't," he said before looking down at YN with a worried smile.  "Isn't that wonderful, doll?  May and Peter are just next door."

"That's, um, that's great news!" YN said, trying to stay calm.

"Why is everyone just standing around out here?" May asked looking at all of YN's and Bucky's friends who were staring at her in shock.

"It's been a while since all of our friends have gotten together, so they're just catching up," YN lied, turning to look at her friends, her expression begging them all to play along.

There was an instant chorus of voices agreeing to YN's lie, and she and Bucky both sighed in relief.  Thank goodness they'd both come clean to their friends about their living arrangement.

Once May had been introduced to everyone, they all got back to work.  YN had decided to stay near the front door so she could direct traffic.  May was wandering through the brownstone and when she came back down the stairs, she had a confused look on her face.

"YN?" she asked.  "Why is all of Bucky's stuff on the second floor and all of yours down here?"

YN had a moment of panic, as she desperately tried to think of a convincing lie.  She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a chin rest on her shoulder.

"YN's stuff is so much nicer than mine, we decided to put her living room set down here," Bucky lied.  "We put all of my furniture on the second floor so I could have a man cave."

YN was shocked to admit that his lie made sense, and from May's expression, she had thought so as well.  "Oh, that's smart.  The couch in the living room is much nicer than the one in the front bedroom upstairs.  Are you planning on using the other bedroom as a guest room?"

"Yes," YN said as she crossed her arms over Bucky's and leaned back into his embrace.  "It didn't make sense to get rid of any of our furniture since this place was so big, so we just kept it all."

"Hey, Buck," Steve called from the kitchen.  "I'm getting ready to put the steaks on, how many do I need to cook?"

YN and Bucky shared a worried look, and it was YN's turn to jump in and come up with a convincing lie.  "Oh, Bucky, I didn't even think.  Mack and Elena showed up at the last minute to help me move.  You probably don't have enough steaks for everyone now."

Steve had walked back toward the entryway and pulled up short when he saw May standing there.  He shot Bucky an apologetic glance before Bucky spoke up.

"YN's right," he began.  "We don't have enough steaks for everyone with Mack and Elena.  Why don't we run to the store and grab a couple more."

"I love a good steak," May interjected with a longing gaze.  "It sounds like you guys are going to have a lovely little party."

YN knew she only making things worse, but she just didn't have it in her to be rude and they'd already lied to May so much.  "Why don't you join us?  You and Peter.  We can grab another couple of steaks."

"Are you sure, dear?" she asked.  "I don't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition," Bucky said.  "Go get Peter and YN and I will be back in a few minutes."

Bucky grabbed YN's hand and practically dragged her down the stairs toward his truck at the curb.  Lincoln had taken YN's U-Haul back while Rhodey had driven Bucky's with Daisy following them in Jemma's car to bring them back.  They were just pulling in across the street and YN rushed over to fill Daisy in on the new development.  She told Daisy to tell all her friends about the cookout and to act like they already knew about it.  

YN climbed into the cab with Bucky as he began to pull away from the curb.  "This is way more complicated than we had originally thought, Bucky."

"I know," he said as he stopped a red light and turned to look at her.  "Do you think we should just come clean with her?"

"I don't know," she said, chewing her bottom lip.  "Technically we lied on our application, so if she wanted to, she could throw us out.  It can't be that hard.  It's not like she's going to be over at our place all of the time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading Part 5 of this story! So, May lives next door. . .how do you think that's going to work out for them?  How do you think Bucky and YN are going to get along once it's just the two of them? I look forward to your comments!


	7. Part 6

The cookout had actually been a lot of fun.  YN had gotten a chance to get to know some of Bucky's friends and he, some of hers.  There were so many stories told that evening that YN felt as though she was starting to get to know Bucky a little better.  Her friends had told some stories about her crazy boss, Tony Stark, and she realized after listening to them all in a row that he didn't pay her enough to deal with his antics.

Her friends had told a few embarrassing stories about some of her exes, but she'd noticed that none of Bucky's friends mentioned any of his.  She knew there were some from the conversation they'd had in the coffee shop, but his friends had kept quiet about his love life.

The longer his friends talked, the more she realized what a great guy Bucky was.  Even after Daisy had checked into his background, there was a part of her that was still concerned about being alone with him.  If he were some kind of crazy stalker, his friends either had no clue about it, or they were really good at covering for him.  YN was convinced that he really was a great guy and it almost broke her heart to think that his exes couldn't see that.

Realizing where her thoughts were heading, she'd been quick to snuff the thought and get back to the fun and laughter.  Having May over had given everyone the excuse to tell their stories, but YN was glad that she was able to learn more about her new roommate.

Once they had all left, Bucky had flipped the locks and turned back toward her.  "Well, it's official."

She gave him a huge smile as she let out a deep breath.  "It's finally ours.  What are you going to do first?"

He took a second to think about it before answering.  "I'm going to go hook up my TV.  There's some college Bowl games on that I'd like to watch.  How about you?"

Not needing any time to think, she answered immediately.  "I've been dreaming about that claw foot tub since the day I saw this place.  I'm pouring a glass of wine and digging out some candles.  You probably won't see me until sometime tomorrow."

A look came over his face, but YN couldn't decipher it.  "You enjoy and I'll see you sometime in the morning."  

She began walking up the stairs as he followed.  When they came to the second floor, Bucky wished her a goodnight and she continued up to her floor where her tub was waiting on her.

 

The next morning, YN awoke, a little disoriented until she remembered where she was.  Rolling over onto her back, she stared up at the skylight above her bed and watched as fluffy pink clouds rolled overhead in the early morning sky.  She could definitely get used to this.

Knowing that she had a busy day of unpacking ahead of her, she got up and threw on some yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt before grabbing a box cutter from her purse and heading downstairs for some breakfast.  She figured the kitchen would be the first room she'd unpack since both of them would be using it the most.

The house was quiet as she carefully made her way downstairs.  She'd noticed that there were a few stairs that creaked really loudly and she would have to make a point of memorizing them so she wouldn't wake up Bucky.  Normally she wouldn't care, but from what she'd learned yesterday, sometimes a 24 hour shift was 24 hours of back to back calls.  She would hate to disturb his sleep if that ever happened while they were roommates.

There were so many boxes stacked on the island and the counters that it was a bit daunting to look at.  She had been meticulous in packing, so all of her boxes were labeled with a list of their contents.  The same couldn't be said about Bucky's.  Most of his boxes were old liquor boxes, or at least she hoped they were old.  She might have to rethink her living arrangements if he'd actually brought ten cases of Jack Daniels to stock the kitchen.

Finding the box with her Keurig, she sliced open the top and placed the machine in the corner near the back door.  She filled the reservoir with water and added a K-cup.  Turning back toward the mess of boxes, she found the one with the coffee mugs and dug one out.  Placing it under the dispenser, she hit start and began to open more boxes while the machine brewed her coffee.

She'd been unpacking for about twenty minutes when she heard Bucky coming down the stairs.  She was on her tiptoes, reaching up to place some bakeware on one of the top shelves when she felt him come up behind her.

"Here, let me help," he said as he pressed up behind her to slide the dish onto the shelf.

She let out a yelp as she felt a certain part of his anatomy pressing into her back.  Bucky jumped back with a confused expression on his face as she turned around to glare at him.

"What?" he asked.

She hung her head, one hand on her face as she pointed to his crotch with the other.  "I realize you have no control over that in the morning, but for the love of all that's holy and right in this world, put on some pants before you come downstairs."

Bucky was clad in only a pair of boxer briefs and he seemed a bit abashed as he looked down at the tent in his underwear.  He turned around as a blush began to rise up his chest.  "Sorry about that, YN.  I'll be right back."

She waited until he was halfway up the stairs before she began laughing.  This was going to be an interesting living arrangement.  She went back to unpacking as she tried not to think about her roommate's impressive anatomy.

 

The rest of the morning had gone by without any other mishaps as the two of them finished up the common areas and moved on to their individual spaces.  Since her boxes were so well labeled, it didn't take her long to unpack, but she'd yet to start hanging her artwork and decorative pieces on the walls.  Deciding to work on that later, she walked toward the bathroom for a shower, but stopped when she heard the doorbell ring.

She began walking down the stairs, meeting Bucky on the second floor.  "Are you expecting anyone?"

"No," he answered.  "Are you?"

She gave him a worried look.  "No."

She stood back and let Bucky answer the door, and just as she'd guessed, May was standing on the other side with a casserole dish.

"I don't mean to interrupt," she began as she walked into the house and made her way to the kitchen.  "I just figured the two of you would be too busy unpacking to think about cooking, so I made you a lasagna."

YN gave Bucky a look as she shrugged her shoulders.  He just shook his head and motioned for her to head to the kitchen before him.

"Oh, would you look at this," May exclaimed as she laid the dish on the island.  "This looks so pretty already.  The two of you must have been at this for hours."

Bucky wrapped an arm around YN's shoulder and pulled her into his side.  She slid an arm around his waist and plastered a smile on her face.

"We have, haven't we sweetie?"

"It's been a long day, doll," he answered with a fake smile spread across his face.

May began walking around the kitchen as she peered into the glass fronted cabinets to admire YN's dishes.  "Well, Christmas is only a few days away, so you'll definitely want the place all decorated for when your families come to visit."

Bucky's grip on her shoulder tightened as she tried to muffle a gasp.  They looked at each other in panic as they tried to think of another lie to tell her.

"Actually, May," YN began, taking the lead.  "Bucky and I won't be spending Christmas together this year."

"Oh," she said, a confused look on her face.  "Why not?"

It was Bucky's turn to make up something as YN gave him a deer in the headlights stare.  "We've always spent the holidays with our own families.  We'd said that when we moved in together that we would start splitting them between each family, but since this was such a last minute decision, we'd already made plans."

"I don't understand," May said.  "The two of you didn't act like this was a last minute decision."

"Well," YN interjected, adding to the web of lies they had already woven.  "We'd been talking about moving in together, but we wanted to wait until after Mr. Stark's company went public."

"But then Steve and Peggy decided they wanted to move in together, so YN and I decided to look around to see if we could find something we liked," Bucky explained.  "We found this place and just fell in love."

Bucky looked down at her with a sappy grin, and she struggled not to bust out laughing as she continued to lay it on even thicker.  "When we saw this place, we just knew it was sign that we should go ahead and move in together."

"Oh, that's so sweet," May said, a hand over her heart as a dreamy look came over her face.  "You two are the absolute cutest couple I've ever seen."

Letting out a sigh as she realized they'd managed to tell another convincing lie, YN looked back at May and started to thank her for the lasagna, but before she could get a word out, May was speaking again.

"Well, the two of you do plan on spending New Year's Eve together, right?"

The two of them shared another panicked look before answering her at the same time.  "Yes."

"Oh, well that's good," May said with a nod of her head.  "Will you be having a party, and inviting all of your lovely friends?" 

YN squeezed Bucky even closer as she answered her meddling landlady.  "Of course we're going to invite all of our friends over.  It's going to be an amazing night."

"Well, it sounds like it will be a perfect night," she said as she started walking toward the door to leave.  "I'll tell Peter, he'll be so excited.  Will Mr. Stark be coming this time?"

"I'll have to ask him, but I'm not sure he'll come," YN answered, feeling like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head as she realized that May had every intention of inviting herself over to every single event she or Bucky had in this house.  Maybe this charade was going to be harder to pull off than they originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 6 of this story!  What an awkward first morning together! How would you like to wake up every morning an see Bucky in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs? I think that's a dream we all share! How do you feel about May constantly popping over? Do you think this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing?  I look forward to your comments!_


	8. Part 7

Christmas with her family had been fun until she'd had to explain her new roommate situation to her parents.  Her mother was completely scandalized and her father looked like he was about to have an aneurism.  She did her best to convince her parents that Bucky was a really great guy and if they just got to know him, they would see that as well.  She ended up heading back to Queens with their begrudging approval, but she knew if one thing went wrong, they'd never let her forget it.

Bucky's family was in Brooklyn like hers, so he was able to pop over that morning to watch his nieces and nephews open their presents before he had to go to work.  When he'd told her he'd had to work Christmas Eve, she'd smacked him on the shoulder and yelled at him for not using that excuse on May.  He claimed that he'd panicked and forgotten, so she'd eventually forgiven him.  

When she'd arrived back at the brownstone that evening, she'd asked him how his family took the news of their arrangement.  He had just shrugged his shoulders and told her they hadn't really cared.  If only she were that lucky.

He'd told her that his friends were all coming over on New Year's Eve, so that only left her with the task of inviting her friends and her boss.  She hoped that Tony and Pepper had better things to do, but she knew that May would keep after her until Peter had gotten his chance to meet the genius behind Stark Industries.

Daisy was sitting in YN's chair, her feet propped up on her desk when she walked in Wednesday morning.  "What do you need, Daisy?"

"I just wanted to see how the new boyfriend was treating you," she teased.  "Did he get you anything nice for Christmas?"

YN rolled her eyes as she pushed Daisy's feet off of her desk.  "No, we didn't exchange gifts this year.  It's kind of hard to shop for a man you barely know."

Daisy stood up, her laughter ringing out as she walked around the desk to plop down in one of the guest chairs.  "Please tell me you're at least trying to get to know him a little better?"

YN knew what Daisy meant by the question, especially with the exaggerated eyebrow wiggling.  "It's not like that and you know it."

Daisy threw her head back in frustration.  "Come on, YN.  Even you have to admit that he is absolutely gorgeous.  What's it going to hurt if you and he decide to. . ." She didn't finish her train of thought, choosing instead to demonstrate it with a rude hand gesture.

YN shook her head.  "Remind me again why we're friends?"

Daisy cocked her head to the side as she gave YN a goofy grin.  "Because your OCD tendencies help me stay organized enough to keep my job, and my spontaneity keeps you from becoming too much of a stick in the mud."

YN sat down in her chair and buried her face in her hands.  "May invited herself over to our New Year's Eve party."

"I didn't know you were having a New Year's Eve party," Daisy said with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, did I forget to mention it?" YN asked, sarcasm dripping off of her words.  "That's probably because we were pretty much forced into planning one to keep up the charade that we're dating."

Daisy gave her a sympathetic look.  "Look sweetie, I don't want to be the one to have to say 'I told you so'. . ."

"But you told me so," YN interrupted as she laid her head on her desk in defeat.  "I know, I know.  I have no one to blame but myself, but how was I supposed to know that she'd be living right next door and constantly inviting herself over?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to plan a party and hope that no one gets drunk enough to spill the beans."  She looked back up at Daisy, her eyes pleading with the other woman.  "Please say that all of you will come?"

"Of course we'll be there," Daisy assured her as she rose to leave the room.  "Besides, I can't wait to see you kiss Bucky at midnight."

 

YN had spent the next few days stressing over the fact that she hadn't even thought about a New Year's kiss with Bucky.  Every time she tried to bring it up to him, she completely chickened out which made her stress out even more.

She'd eventually asked Tony if he and Pepper would like to come to the party and when he'd said yes, she'd been forced to tell him about the lie.  She had thought her father had taken it bad, but it was nothing compared to the tongue lashing she'd gotten from her boss.  Once she'd finally calmed him down, she was able to explain that Bucky worked with his friend Rhodey.  He still wasn't happy about the situation, but at least he'd stopped yelling at her.  

Tony was genuinely concerned for her and knowing that warmed her heart.  It had almost killed her to have to tell him that she couldn't afford to pay the rent by herself.  He'd asked why she hadn't come to him for a raise and she'd told him that she was waiting until after they took the company public before she was going to ask.  He'd hung his head and told her that they were going to have to push the IPO back since one of his products was having issues in production and he wanted to get it back on schedule before he took the company public.

The last days before New Year's were then spent trying to spin this disaster into a positive light, but that was what Tony paid her to do.  By the time New Year's Eve rolled around, she was completely exhausted and hadn't even thought about talking to Bucky about the party.

He'd come in from work that morning looking like death warmed over.  There had been a huge fire in an abandoned warehouse that had taken them all night to extinguish, so she let him go to bed without saying anything yet again.

When he'd finally come back downstairs late that afternoon, she'd already decorated and fixed the hors d'oeuvres.  He looked well rested, so she decided that it was now or never.

"Bucky?"

"Yeah, doll," he answered as he popped one of the stuffed mushrooms into his mouth.

"About tonight," she began, suddenly nervous as she began to wring her hands.

Completely oblivious to her nervousness, Bucky continued to walk around the island, sampling each of the various hors d'oeuvres.  "What about tonight?"

"Bucky would you please stop eating and look at me?  This is serious."

His head jerked up at her tone, and worry set into his features as he noticed how stressed she looked.  "What's wrong?"

"Tonight, at midnight, May is going to expect us to. . ."

"Oh, sh. . .," he muttered under his breath, finally figuring out what she was so nervous about.  "I didn't even think about that, YN."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, we're obviously going to have to kiss one another at midnight."  He ran his hands down his face as he tried to think of something to do.  "Okay, here's what we're going to do.  We're going to practice a few times now, so that way it won't look so awkward tonight."

"Pr. . .practice?" she asked.  "You just want to us to start making out right here in the kitchen?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

She took a deep breath as she leaned her elbows against the island and buried her face in her hands.  "This is a disaster, Bucky."

"Come on, doll, kissing me isn't that bad," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.  "Most women tell me I'm an excellent kisser."

She couldn't help the giggle that rose up in her at his cocky attitude.  Standing back up, she was shocked to see him standing right beside her.  She'd been close to him many times before, but there was something about this situation that made her all too aware of his broad chest stretching the thin t-shirt taut.  She felt heat begin to rise within her as her gaze rose from his chest to his lips.  He reached out and placed one hand on her hip, drawing her closer to him as his other hand cupped her jaw to tilt her head up.

Before she knew what she was doing, her hands were on his chest, her fingers curling into the material of his shirt as he started to lean closer to her.  Her eyes fluttered shut as she waited to feel his lips against hers.

His warm breath against her cheek did nothing to calm her nerves as her tongue darted out to wet her lips.  She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to draw breath into her lungs.  When his lips finally brushed against hers, she let out a sigh as her hands slid up to wrap around his neck.  Just as she was about to pull him closer to her to deepen the kiss, the doorbell rang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 7 of this story!  What did you think of Bucky's suggestion to practice their kiss? How do you think they're going to handle the real kiss at midnight? look forward to your comments!_


	9. Part 8

The two of them jerked apart, both of them staring wide-eyed at the other. Her heart felt as though it was going to burst out of her chest and she was struggling to catch her breath. Her mind was racing, flitting from one thought to the next as she tried not to think about the way it had felt to be in Bucky’s arms, to feel his lips brushing across hers.

“I’d better go get the door,” Bucky said as he ran a hand through his hair and gave her a sheepish grin.

As soon as he’d left the kitchen, she’d taken a step back to lean against the countertop, her hands braced behind her to keep her from melting into a puddle on the floor. The two of them had barely even kissed and she was coming apart at the seams. How in the world was she going to handle a real kiss from him in a few hours in front of all of their friends and May?

She was completely lost in her own thoughts, and it wasn’t until Bucky came back into the kitchen followed by May and Peter that she was able to snap out of it.

“Oh, look at all of this food,” May exclaimed as she placed a plate covered with clear plastic wrap on the island. “I made my famous Walnut Date Loaf, but I can see now that I needn't have bothered. You must have worked all day on this YN.”

Bucky’s brow furrowed as he took another look at all of the food she had prepared. He felt a pang of guilt for leaving her with all of this work while he’d been upstairs sleeping. Stepping over to where she stood, he placed one arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

“YN is truly amazing, isn’t she?” he asked May. 

Having Bucky’s arm around her wasn’t doing anything to help her racing heart slow down, but she knew she had a role to play, so she put on a forced smile and tried to act like she wasn’t slowly dying of lust.

“It was nothing,” she assured them as she noticed Peter bouncing on his toes and casting glances over his shoulder every few seconds. “Is everything alright, Peter? You seem nervous.”

“No. . .um. . .I’m good,” he stammered. “Is Mr. Stark coming tonight?”

YN smiled as she realized she’d forgotten to tell Tony about his admirer – at least she would have something to keep her entertained as she watched Peter fawn all over her boss. “He’ll be here soon.”

The doorbell rang again, and Bucky gave YN another kiss on the cheek before starting for the entryway. “I’ll grab the door, you stay here and entertain our guests, doll.”

She continued to idly chat with May, discussing the unseasonably warm weather they’d been having this winter. They were predicting that tomorrow would be even warmer, and the sun was supposed to be out all day. 

Bucky ended up staying by the door as all of the guests began arriving at once. The last time all of their friends had been over, they’d been roaming in and out between the patio and the house, so YN hadn’t realized just how many people were going to be crammed into their narrow brownstone.

YN had ended up staying in the kitchen with May and most of her friends. Bucky’s friends had taken over the living room, some of them sitting on the sofa and love seat and others in the floor. It wasn’t until Tony and Pepper arrived that the two groups began to mingle again. 

Tony and Rhodey hadn’t seen one another in a few months, so they spent some time catching up while Peter stood by anxiously awaiting his moment to meet his idol. Taking pity on the poor kid, YN grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room, May trailing close behind.

“Sorry to interrupt Tony, but I wanted to introduce you to my landlady, May, and her nephew, Peter,” YN said with a smile. “Peter has been following your career for a while and he’s very interested in talking to you about some of his projects.”

Tony shook May’s hand before turning to Peter with a gleam in his eye. “Tell me about these projects, kid.”

YN knew that Tony would soon be engulfed in shop talk, so she gave Bucky a questioning look as she nodded toward the couple in the corner that she didn’t know. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he walked over to the couple and brought them over to May.

“May, I’d like you to meet my boss, Chief Coulson and his wife, Melinda,” Bucky said as he placed an arm around YN.

“Please call me Phil,” Bucky’s boss said with a sideways glance and a smile toward YN. 

Tony gave Bucky a quick once over before turning back to Peter. YN took a moment to look around the room and was pleasantly surprised to see everyone mingling and seeming to have a good time. She was so glad that the two groups of people got along so well.

“I think this is going well,” Bucky whispered in her ear.

She glanced up at him and nodded her head in agreement. “I think so too, but we still have that _thing_ to deal with later.”

He gave her shoulder a squeeze as a worried look came over his face. “Maybe everyone here will be too drunk and caught up in their own celebrations that they won’t be paying any attention to us.”

“We can only hope,” she said with a pained expression.

“Bucky,” May said, drawing his attention away from YN. “I was just talking to Phil about you and YN and he said he couldn’t recall how long the two of you had been dating.”

The entire room grew quiet as Phil gave Bucky a guilty look and shrugged his shoulders. Bucky looked down at YN, not sure how to answer.

“It’s been about seven months, hasn’t it sweetie?” she lied.

Bucky nodded his head, quickly doing some mental math. “Yeah, it was right around Memorial Day.”

May pursed her lips and cocked her head as she glanced around the living room. “Why aren’t there any pictures of the two of you then?”

Both YN and Bucky froze, not knowing how to answer that question. The truth was that there were no pictures of the two of them as a couple, and it wasn’t something either of them had thought about.

“I have a feeling that might be my fault, May,” Tony interjected. Everyone in the room was waiting to see what excuse he would come up with that would be even remotely believable. “I just dumped a huge mess in YN’s lap this week, and she’s been so busy she hasn’t had time to finish decorating yet.”

YN let out a relieved breath as she gave her boss a huge smile. “Oh, Tony, don’t blame yourself.”

“No, no,” he replied, his hand brushing away her words. “I work you too hard and I know it.” He gave her a pained look before continuing. “You deserve a raise for putting up with me, and I promise, as soon as we go public, you’ll be getting one. A big one. Big enough that you won’t have to worry your finances ever again.”

No one else knew the real reason behind that speech, but YN did and she knew right then that she had the best boss in the world and she was lucky to be working for him.

“I say that calls for a toast,” Daisy announced, breaking the tension and putting everyone back at ease.

 

The rest of the night went by smoothly as everyone continued eating, drinking, and getting to know one another. YN had hoped to catch Tony alone for a moment to thank him for saving her with May, but Peter rarely left his side. Eventually the kid had struck up a conversation with Steve, and Tony made his way to the kitchen where she and Bucky were talking with Rhodey.

“So, how long has May been a widow?” Rhodey asked Bucky.

“Um, I’m not really sure,” Bucky said, turning to YN. “Do you know?”

“I think she said Ben died about six years ago,” she answered. “Why?”

“I think I may ask her out,” Rhodey told you as Tony came up behind and clapped him on the back.

“Really?” Tony asked as he popped a cheese puff into his mouth. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to be dating the landlady?”

“I’m with Tony,” Bucky said with a lopsided grin.

“I think it’s a great idea,” YN said as the three men looked at her in surprise. “Think about it. If May is busy dating Rhodey, then she won’t have time to worry about me and Bucky.”

They took a moment to think about what YN had said and they all started nodding in agreement.

“You’re absolutely right, YN,” Bucky said. “She’s going to be over here every time we have a get-together, but if she’s with Rhodey, she won’t be so focused on us.”

YN smiled at Rhodey and gave him a friendly shove. “What are you waiting on? Go seduce my landlady, and make sure she’s too distracted at midnight to pay any attention to us.”

Rhodey gave her a sheepish smile as he walked back into the living room to find May. Tony gave Bucky a look that let him know he wanted to speak to YN alone. With a farewell kiss on the forehead, Bucky grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and headed into the living room.

YN waited until Bucky had left before speaking to her boss. “Thank you so much for what you did earlier, Tony.”

He gave her a hard look as he continued sampling the food on the island. “I don’t like this arrangement, but I’ll admit this Bucky guy seems like a decent fellow.” He gave Bucky a disdainful glance over his shoulder before turning back to you. “I don’t like seeing how friendly he’s gotten with you, but I know it’s all a part of the act.”

“Tony,” she began, but he held up a hand to stop her.

“You’re more than just my employee, YN. You’re my friend, and I’m worried about you.”

“I appreciate your concern, Tony,” she said as she laid a hand on his arm. “Things are a bit rocky right now, but we’ll get it all figured out.”

“What are you going to do about the photos?” he asked.

She took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “I guess Bucky and I are going to have to get creative.”

 

As midnight slowly began approaching, YN turned off the background music that had been playing and turned on the TV so they could all watch the ball drop in Times Square. She’d passed around the goofy hats and noisemakers and sat back and laughed at the silly selfies everyone was taking around the room. Realizing a perfect opportunity, she walked over to Bucky and sat on the arm of the sofa beside him.

“Smile,” she instructed as she leaned down and took a photo of the two of them with her phone. She sat back up and looked at the picture on the screen. To anyone who didn’t know, the two of them looked like any other couple. There was a niggling sensation at the back of her mind at the thought, but she couldn’t place what was making her feel uneasy. Before she could ponder it any longer, Daisy was standing in front of her with her phone and motioning for her and Bucky to get closer so she could take a picture.

When Daisy had walked away, Bucky’s hand slipped down her side to her hip as he pulled her into his lap. Her eyes got big as she looked up at him in question.

“It’s almost midnight, doll,” he said, his voice a whisper as he leaned closer to her.

Her eyes were locked with his as she heard everyone in the room begin counting down. She could hear them, but it was as though time stood still for her. Her peripheral vision began to blur as Bucky became her entire focus. His eyes were growing dark as his gaze shifted to her lips. Her pounding heart began to drown out the sounds around her as the blood rushed through her veins. She faintly heard the sound of the noisemakers as Bucky’s hand gently cupped the back of her neck and began pulling her toward him. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips settled firmly over hers. 

This was nothing like the hesitant kiss from earlier, but it was just as electrifying. The sudden jolt of desire had her gasping in surprise and he was quick to take advantage, his tongue sweeping across her parted lips. She didn’t remember raising her arms, but somehow her hands were now buried in his hair as she tilted her head a little more to deepen the kiss. 

Bucky could’ve spent the rest of the night exploring the way it felt to hold YN. He’d already discovered that he loved the the sound she made when he lightly nipped at her bottom lip, and he was sure that there were more secrets he could learn, but now was not the time, nor the place. Steve had eventually elbowed him to let him know that he and YN were now the center of attention. He’d reluctantly pulled away from her, and he couldn’t help the grin of satisfaction that spread across his face when she groaned in protest.

YN had slowly come back to her senses to find most everyone in the room staring at her and Bucky. A wave of embarrassment flooded through her as she struggled to put two thoughts together. Thankfully, Tony was there to save the day again.

“Oh, come here kid,” Tony said to an awestruck Peter who’d just witnessed his aunt kissing Rhodey. Before the kid could protest, Tony had given him a loud, smacking kiss on his forehead. Everyone had started laughing as Peter began to turn twenty different shades of red.

YN’s heart was still racing, but now that she and Bucky weren’t the center of attention, she had a minute to think about that kiss. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that there had been something there, but was this a road she was ready to go down? She looked back at Bucky, both relieved and worried to see the same confusion she was feeling mirrored in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 8 of this story!  What do you think about Rhodey dating May? Do you think she'll leave the Reader and Bucky alone if she has her own love life to worry about? How about that kiss? I hope it was everything you'd hoped for! I look forward to your comments!_


	10. Part 9

Everyone started to gather their things to leave, and YN and Bucky got caught up in saying goodbye and showing them out, so it was almost one o'clock in the morning before they finally had the apartment to themselves again.  

Not ready to talk about the kiss, YN went into the kitchen to begin putting away the leftover food.  She didn't hear him come in, but she knew the minute he walked up behind her.  It was as though her body was already attuned to him and she wasn't happy about that at all.

"Are we going to talk about it?" he asked as he placed a hand around her arm and turned her toward him.  

His thumb was idly rubbing circles into her bicep and she struggled to keep her thoughts focused.  "What's there to talk about, Bucky?  We kissed, and now it's over."

He raised an eyebrow at her as he began to move closer to her, pinning her between him and the counter.  Leaning down he whispered, "I know you felt it too, doll."

For a moment, she thought about giving in to temptation and seeing where this attraction would take them, but her better sense prevailed and she brushed his hand away from her arm as she wriggled past him to continue her task.  Keeping her hands busy seemed be a good way to keep her thoughts centered on the here and now.

"It was just a kiss, Bucky, and please stop calling me 'doll.'"

He leaned one hip against the island as he crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk on his face.  "You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."

She knew he was trying to goad her, but she wasn't giving in to him.  "I think you're forgetting about the bigger issue here."

He cocked his head in confusion as she continued to stuff hors d'oeuvres into plastic containers to place in the refrigerator.  "What are you talking about?"

She stopped long enough to spare him a frustrated glance.  "The pictures, Bucky.  Or rather, the lack of pictures."  She ran her hand down her face as she tried to think.  "May will be over again for some reason or another and she's going to expect to see seven months worth of pictures in here."

"What are we going to do?"

"It's supposed to be pretty tomorrow," she began as she looked down at her watch, "well, technically, it's already tomorrow, but anyway – it's supposed to really warm, so I think we should spend the day out taking pictures."

"That could work," he said, scratching the stubble forming on his chin as he thought.  "We won't want to get in the water, but we could head to the beach and get some shots that will pass for summer."

"I was thinking the same thing," she said as she put away the last of the food.  "It's already after one, so we should probably get some sleep and try to get an early start.  We'll have to change clothes a lot for this to work, so pack a bag and we'll leave after breakfast."

The two of them turned out the lights and began to make their way up the stairs to their bedrooms.  When they got to the second floor landing, Bucky grabbed her hand as she continued toward the next flight of stairs.  She stopped and looked back at him uncertainly.  

He pulled her close to him and she thought for a moment that he was going to kiss her again.  He looked into her eyes for a long moment before leaning in and kissing her forehead.  

"Good night, YN."

He dropped her hand and she started to walk up the last set of stairs.  "Good night, Bucky."

 

Her internal clock had her waking up at her normal time, and she rolled over to try to get a few more minutes of sleep, but her bladder wouldn't hear of it.  She padded toward the bathroom and decided that since she was up, she'd go ahead and grab a shower and start her day.

She was just finishing up the last batch of blueberry pancakes when Bucky walked into the kitchen.  She gave him a smile as she went to the Keurig and pressed the start button.  "Here's your pancakes, and your coffee will be ready in a moment."

He looked down at the plate she'd handed him and moved to sit on one of the bar stools by the island.  He took the bottle of syrup she offered him and began to dump it over the still-warm cakes.  The coffee finished brewing, so she grabbed it for him before sitting down with her own plate and cup of coffee.

The silence wasn't as awkward as she'd thought it would be, so she took a moment to savor the warm deliciousness that was in front of her.  Glancing toward Bucky out of the corner of her eye, she was pleased to see him cleaning his plate.

"So, I know this is a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyway," Bucky began as she gave him a confused look.  "Do you have a game plan for today?"

A slow smile of satisfaction spread across her face as she grabbed her phone and used her thumbprint to unlock the screen.  "As a matter of fact, I do."  She pulled up her Notes and began to read through the list of locales she'd thought of while she was in the shower.  "I think we should start with some easy ones.  You know – the park, the ferry, a few tourist attractions.  Do you have any suggestions?  I know you mentioned the beach, so that's on here."

"What about the firehouse?" he asked as he took a sip of coffee.

She nodded her head as she began to type it onto her list.  "That's a great idea, any more?"

Bucky thought for a moment.  "Our old apartments."  When she gave him a questioning look, he continued.  "We've been living there during our entire relationship, so it would make sense that we have some photos of us at each of our apartments with our friends."

She rubbed the space between her eyes as she hung her head.  "Group shots.  I never even considered group shots.  We'll have to call Jemma and Steve and make sure they're home before we stop by."

"Date night?" he asked with a grimace.  "I hate dressing up, but it stands to reason that I would have taken you somewhere nice at least once in the past seven months."

"This is good," she said as she continued to type on her phone.  "I think that one should be last.  We should do our old apartments toward the end since it won't matter if it's dark outside.  We'll also have somewhere to change before we hit the town in our evening wear."

"This just might work, YN," he told her as he laid a hand on her shoulder.

It was the first physical contact they'd had all morning and YN would have been lying if she said she hadn't felt a jolt at his touch.  Not wanting to temp fate, she quickly stood and gathered the dishes.  "I've already showered, I just need to add a few things to my bag.  Why don't you get cleaned up and pack while I clean up the kitchen?"

Bucky knew that she was avoiding his touch, and he let her by with it for the moment.  He gave her a wink as he walked back toward the stairs.  She may not have thought about it, but he had, and he knew they would be spending a lot of time in one another's arms today.

 

Bucky stepped out of the shower and went to his closet to find something to wear.  Realizing that he had no idea where they were going first, he walked to the landing and yelled for YN.  He was looking down into the living room, so when she spoke to him from above, he jerked back in surprise, causing the towel around his waist to slip down.  

"Bucky," YN screamed as she slapped a hand over her eyes.  "Seriously?"

"Sorry," he apologized as he struggled to get the towel wrapped around his waist again.  He wasn't sure how much she'd seen, but embarrassment had his face starting to turn red.  "I just needed to know where we were going first so I knew what to wear."

YN spread apart two fingers to take a peek.  When she saw that he was decent again, she dropped her hand and looked toward the skylight in her room.  "It's still pretty early, how about the Farmer's Market over in Brooklyn.  It's only about twenty minutes from here.  We can change in the bathroom there and head to the park right after."

"Sounds good," Bucky said.  "We can grab some food and have a picnic in the park."

YN took a moment to think about his suggestion before smiling and nodding in agreement.  "That's a great idea Bucky.  Go get dressed and meet me downstairs."

 

The Farmer's Market was a lot more fun than usual with Bucky there to provide comic relief.  She hadn't realized how funny he could be until she turned around to find him with a watermelon stuffed under his shirt, one hand on his lower back and the other supporting his "baby bump."  She had tried not to laugh, thinking it would only encourage him, but he was just so adorable she couldn't help herself.  

Eventually she'd handed her phone to one of the vendors and asked him to take a photo of her and Bucky as they shared a fresh peach.  The fruit was juicier than she'd expected and when she bit into the tender flesh, peach juice began to run down her chin.  Laughing, she pulled away and struggled to chew her bite of the fruit.  Bucky was having trouble chewing as he laughed at her.  Finally getting his bite down, he reached over and swiped his thumb across her chin to wipe away the juice. 

In an instant, the mood shifted and all of a sudden YN was aware of just how close he was.  For a moment she contemplated leaning in and kissing him, knowing his lips would taste like a fresh peach.  When the vendor cleared his throat to get her attention, she jumped, but recovered quickly.  Taking the phone, she thanked him and began rummaging around in her bag for a wet wipe.  She was one of those woman who kept a little bit of everything in her bag, so it wasn't long before she found two and handed one to Bucky.

Once they'd changed their clothes in the bathroom and picked up some fresh bread, cheese and a variety of fruit, they headed back to Bucky's truck.  On the ride to the park, YN began to swipe through the photos the vendor had taken.  She'd wanted the picture of the two of them biting into the peach, but when she got to the picture he'd taken of Bucky running his thumb across her chin, she knew that was the one she'd print out. The way he was looking at her, and she at him, would convince anyone that they were actually in love.  She shot Bucky a quick glance as that niggling thought in the back of mind gave her an uneasy feeling again.  It was quickly filed away as Bucky found a parking space and they made their way to the park.

She'd brought a blanket and an old picnic basket as props, so once they'd set the stage, the two of them lay on the blanket and stared up at the white fluffy clouds rolling across the sky.  She pulled her phone out and they put their heads together, huge smiles on their faces as she took the photo.  Sitting up, she pulled up the photo to get a better look.  Her breath got caught in her throat as she saw that Bucky had turned to look at her at the last second, leaving her to be the one to smile into the camera.  She told herself that he was just acting, and that he was doing a great job, but there was a part of her that wondered if he was aware of how he looked at her.

"Do you want to see any of them?" she asked as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"No, I'm good," he said around the grape.  "Print out the one's you like, I'm sure you'll know which ones will look the best."

She locked the phone and set it aside as she began to eat her half of the picnic.  She and Bucky didn't speak for the entire lunch, and again she was amazed at the fact that it wasn't uncomfortable for her to sit in silence with him.  

The drive to the beach took a bit longer than expected since most of the people off work today were taking advantage of the warm weather.  They'd gotten caught in a traffic jam and YN kept checking her watch, calculating how this snag would affect their schedule for the day.  

Noticing her getting antsy, Bucky started flipping through the radio stations until he found a song he knew.  Turning the music up, he began to belt out the words to If You Leave, causing her to break out in a smile.  He poked her in the ribs as he got to the chorus, and she finally gave in and started singing along with him.  Realizing what a perfect moment it was, she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick selfie of the two of them grinning like idiots in the car.

The traffic cleared up and they were soon on their way to the beach.  YN was a little nervous about this particular photo op, simply because she wasn't one to run around in a swimsuit, and especially with a man she barely knew – a man she was desperately trying not to be attracted to.  

Once Bucky had parked, they'd headed to the bathrooms to change yet again.  YN had brought a coverup to go over her swimsuit, but when she'd walked out of the bathroom, Bucky gave her a disapproving glare.

"Doll."

With a huff, she pulled the coverup off and stuffed it into her bag.  When she looked back up, she caught him ogling her so she swatted him.  She'd known he was in good shape, but when the back of her hand struck the hard muscles of his bare chest, she finally realized just how solid he was.  She snatched her hand back quickly before she gave in to the urge to run it down the length of his sculpted torso.

Bucky seemed unaware of her internal struggle as he started scoping out the beach, looking for a good place to set up their stuff.  Finding a somewhat empty spot, Bucky laid out a towel while YN started snapping some photos on her phone.  Looking up and catching her, he rushed toward her, his arms outstretched as he let out a roar.  Grabbing her around the waist, he spun her around a few times, both of them laughing like crazy.

YN found a sweet old lady taking an afternoon stroll along the water's edge and asked if she would take a picture of her and Bucky.  The old lady took one look at Bucky, gave YN a wink and told her she'd be more than happy to.  YN showed her how to work the camera on the smartphone as she and Bucky arranged themselves on the towel.  Bucky was sitting behind her with his knees bent while she sat in between his legs, her head resting against his chest with his arms wrapped around her.

Once the picture had been taken and YN had thanked the old lady again, she and Bucky had packed up their stuff and they headed back to the bathrooms to change again.  The traffic jam had delayed them enough that YN scrapped the ferry and instead they hit the firehouse, a few tourist spots and then went on to their old apartments.  Both of their old roommates had been completely on board and soon they had the group shots they needed.

They'd changed for the last time at Steve's apartment, and when YN had put on the little black dress, she'd felt more ill at ease than she had in her swimsuit.  She truly felt like she was getting ready for a date, and after the day she'd spent with Bucky, she'd realized that he may not have been the first guy she would've chosen to go out with, but he was just the type of guy she'd always thought she'd end up with.

When she came out of the bedroom and saw Bucky standing there in black on black, her heart skipped a beat.  He'd shaved and slicked his hair back, and he was so handsome he took her breath away.  That niggling sensation in the back of her mind started itching to come forward, but before she could put her finger on it, he was tucking her arm in his and saying his goodbyes to his friends.

When he pulled up in front of the fancy restaurant, YN had been skeptical.  After he'd given his name to the maitre'd, he'd finally admitted that he'd made the reservation that morning.  YN's heart skipped another beat as she realized that he was just as committed to making this fake relationship work as much as she was. 

Dinner was excellent, but they'd had their first argument of the day when he insisted on paying and not letting her cover her half.  She'd eventually conceded and had been rewarded with one of his heart-stopping smiles.  

The restaurant had a small koi pond with a waterfall and their waitress had been more than happy to snap a picture of them sitting on the edge.  When YN checked the photo, she wasn't surprised to find Bucky's gaze centered on her instead of the camera.  Most of the photos they'd taken today had caught him looking at her instead of the camera.  She'd wanted to ask him if that had been his intention, but she was scared that he had done it on purpose to make it look like they were an actual couple.  She told herself that she was reading too much into it, but there was a part of her that just didn't want to believe it.

As they waited for the valet to retrieve Bucky's truck, it began to drizzle.  Bucky pulled her close to him to keep the rain off of her.  They could faintly hear the music from the restaurant playing and on a whim, Bucky pulled her flush to his chest and began to sway.  Lost in the moment, she followed his lead as his gazed locked with hers.  He was just leaning down to kiss her when the valet returned with Bucky's truck, breaking the spell they were under.

Bucky was helping her into the truck as the other valet came up to her and showed her a picture he'd taken on his phone.  The two of them were cast in shadow, the lights from the street lamps creating a warm glow in the background that reflected off the drops of rain around them.  She gave him her phone number and he texted it to her.  She quickly thanked him just before Bucky began to drive away.

On the drive back to the brownstone, YN looked through the photos they'd taken throughout the day.  Between the different outfits and settings, they had a decent amount of photos to scatter throughout the living room to fool May into thinking they'd really been dating for seven months.  YN snuck a quick glance at Bucky and wondered, if only for a moment, what it would be like to actually be his girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 9 of this story!  This is probably my favorite part in this whole story! What did you think of their photo op day? I used some of Seb's instagram posts as inspiration. . .did you spot any of them? I look forward to your comments!_


	11. Part 10

It wasn't a long drive back to the brownstone, but YN was exhausted from the day's events coupled with the long day she'd had yesterday preparing for the party. They hadn't made it more than a few blocks before she'd begun to doze, her head leaning up against the window.

She was vaguely aware of the vehicle stopping and pair of warm arms wrapping around her. She was too tired to think, so she just burrowed into the warm body cocooning her. It wasn't until the warmth was suddenly gone that she was able to come to her senses. She looked up to see Bucky leaning over her, the glow of the moon shining through the skylight above him giving him an aura that cast his face in shadow. 

A part of her wanted to reach for him, to draw him back to her, but her better judgement got the best of her, and she began to sit up. A pang of disappointment speared through her as he began to back away from the bed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you," he told her as he began walking to the door. "Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

He didn't wait for her to answer before slipping into the stairwell, shutting the door behind him with an audible click. 

She sat on the side of the bed and tried to wrap her mind around the fact that he'd carried her up three flights of stairs, and hadn't seemed the least bit winded. She knew that fireman needed to be in pretty good shape for their job, but she'd never realized just how strong Bucky really was.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of him, she rose and went into the bathroom. She didn't want to sleep in her dress and she also needed to wash her face and brush her teeth before she gave in to her exhaustion again.

She was worried that the events of the day would replay themselves over and over again in her mind before she fell asleep, but once her head hit the pillow, she was dead to the world. Thoughts of Bucky refused to be kept at bay, as her mind cast him in various roles throughout the night in her dreams.

She awoke a few minutes before her alarm as she replayed the dream she'd just had. Her subconscious had decided to explore the possibilities of what could have happened if she'd stopped Bucky from leaving last night. Needless to say, her heart was racing and she was a bit short of breath. Silently cursing that she'd woken up before the dream had a chance to reach it's conclusion, she was now a bit achy and frustrated.

Throwing off the covers, she sat on the side of the bed and waited for her alarm to go off. Hitting the button on her phone, she made her way to the bathroom for a cold shower. Hopefully, she'd be able to clear her mind before she had to see him this morning.

She and Bucky had developed a routine on the mornings that he was in the brownstone. Like her, he had an insufferable internal alarm that refused to allow him to sleep in, so even if he didn't have to work that day, he'd still pop up in the kitchen as she was making breakfast. It hadn't taken long for her to start making extra for him to share, waiting until he was coming down the stairs before she made his cup of coffee. 

Neither one said much about the routine, but she knew he must enjoy it as much as she did, or he wouldn't keep joining her. It shouldn't have bothered her that she missed him on the mornings he was finishing up a shift, but it did. That first morning without him had been a bit lonely, even though they rarely spoke to one another during breakfast. She'd thought about leaving him a plate on those mornings, but sometimes a shift would run over, so she never knew exactly what time he would get home. 

Pancakes and waffles were reserved for weekends and holidays, so today it was ham and cheese omelets with whole wheat toast. She'd thought he might complain about the healthy breakfast options, but so far he'd eaten everything she'd put in front of him.

She heard him coming down the stairs, so she quickly plated the omelets and toast and hit the start button on the Keurig. Nerves had her fidgeting with the silverware as he finally appeared in the kitchen. He'd already showered, and his hair was still slightly damp. One lock was hanging down over his forehead and it was all she could do to stop herself from reaching over and brushing it back.

"The coffee's almost ready," she told him as she made a move toward the machine.

"I've got it," he told her as he laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Sit and eat, I know you have a busy day at work today."

She cocked her head in confusion as he brushed past her to retrieve his coffee. Turning around he noticed her furrowed brow and gave her a wink. "Tony told me how he dumped that PR mess in your lap last week. He felt horrible about doing that to you right in the middle of the holidays, but from what he was implying, you're getting one heck of pay raise once it's all said and done."

She nodded her head as she joined him at the island. There was no more conversation as the two of them began to eat and drink their coffee. To her, this was the best part of their arrangement. She loved that they were so at ease around one another – well, at least until one of them happened to accidentally touch the other one. As long as they kept their hands to themselves, there was no awkwardness. 

The biggest problem she faced was the fact that a part of her didn't want him to keep his hands to himself. They'd been attracted to one another since day one, and if it hadn't been for the fact that May lived next door, they would have never had a reason to put on a show so often. 

Bucky took a drink of coffee, sighing as he placed the mug on the island and all at once her thoughts suddenly went back to the dream she'd woken up to that morning. Embarrassment washed over her as she remembered the way her subconscious had filed away the sound of his sigh and assigned it to an action that was nowhere near as innocent as enjoying a cup of coffee. 

Thinking about the dream had her body awakening in a way that she didn't want, so she quickly downed the rest of her coffee and took her dishes to the sink. Being away from him, even for a moment, gave her a chance to slow her racing heart and get her breathing under control.

Once she'd placed her dishes in the dishwasher, she turned to him with a smile plastered on her face. "I'm off to work. Have a good day, and be safe."

He noticed the half-panicked edge to her voice and furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out why she was so nervous all of a sudden. "Ok, you too. Thanks for breakfast."

He watched as she all but ran from the kitchen to grab her coat and bag. She shot a glance over her shoulder and gave him a little wave as she walked out the front door. He shook his head and chalked it up to nerves – he knew she had a lot on her plate right now, and her job sounded pretty stressful. He finished his breakfast and put his dishes away before he, too, left for work.

Her day had been going well until Stark Industries' major competitor, A.I.M., got wind of the problems with Tony's new Arc Reactor. The companies founder and CEO, Aldrich Killian sent out a few tweets that implied that Tony was nothing more than a swindler and a fraud. 

YN could handle people criticizing the products they created, but when they went after Tony himself, she saw red. She spent the entire day drafting very carefully veiled press releases that implied that Killian was trying to use a setback in production times to smear the company's name.

She debated for hours about whether to call a press conference, but when Killian refused to let up, she knew she had no choice. Tony could be a bit unpredictable when it came to public speaking, and press conferences were a nightmare to control when he went off on a rant. He could also be charismatic and charming, easily manipulating the reporters into asking the questions he wanted to answer, but YN was never sure which Tony would show up any given day.

She called the press conference and went to Tony's office to tell him about it personally. He'd been expecting the move after watching the twitter feeds all day, and he promised that he would be on his best behavior. He assured her that he knew Killian was trying to push his buttons and he wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

The conference had gone off without a hitch, and Tony had the reporters eating out of the palm of his hand before it was all over. She'd stayed behind to monitor the response to Tony's interview, and after a few hours, it seemed as though Killian was slinking away with his tail between his legs like the mangy dog he was. 

Packing up her bag, she turned out the light in her office and walked through the sparsely lighted building, waving at the night custodian as she waited for the elevator.

It was almost midnight by the time she slid her key into the lock on the front door, and for the first time since she and Bucky had moved in, the brownstone actually felt like home. She closed the door and leaned her back against it as she toed off her pumps. She listened to the quiet noises in the house as she let the stress of the day fall from her shoulders.

She hung up her coat and bag and leaned down to grab her shoes before heading up the stairs. She'd finally memorized the squeaky stairs, and although she knew Bucky wasn't home, she still avoided them. Pausing at the landing that led to his bedroom, she gave herself a minute to lament the fact that he wouldn't be home tonight. Sending up a silent prayer for his safety, she finished the climb to her bedroom and got ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 10 of this story!  Do you think she’s starting to really fall for him? How do you think she’s going to handle these feelings? I look forward to your comments!_


	12. Part 11

She told herself that she should enjoy these mornings alone before Bucky returned home from his shift, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't help but miss his company in the morning. They'd only been living together for a few weeks, but he'd already become a part of her life, and she dreaded to think what it would be like once they went their separate ways.

She stalled for as long as she could, but when it didn't look like Bucky would make it back home before it was time for her leave, she went ahead and locked up the house and headed to work.

 

 

She was cautiously optimistic as she pulled up the company's Twitter account, but thankfully, the press conference had done what she'd intended and all people were talking about this morning was their anticipation for Tony's new product. Closing her MacBook, she turned toward the mountain of paperwork that had collected in her inbox while she'd been focused on the crisis at hand. This was the part of her job that she loved – being able to hide in her office and organize from behind the scenes.

She'd been elbow deep in work for so long, she'd lost track of time and it wasn't until she heard her phone beep and checked the display that she realized she'd worked through lunch yet again. Becoming aware of the time, her stomach decided to finally let her know that all she'd eaten today was a poached egg on an English muffin.

Focusing on the screen, she realized that she'd gotten a text from Bucky. She unlocked the screen and began to read.

_Thought you might be working late. Any plans to be home this evening?_

Inhaling sharply, she realized that Bucky was asking to bring someone home with him tonight. She shouldn't have been upset, it's not like they were actually dating, but she couldn't help the ache in her heart at the thought of him with someone else.

Getting control of her emotions, she typed out a quick reply.

_Probably not. Major PR snag yesterday put me behind on paperwork._

She waited for a reply, but when nothing came, she put the phone away and grabbed a bag of pretzels from the stash in her desk drawer. She wheeled her chair over to the corner where she kept a small mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water to wash them down before digging back into work.

 

 

She'd gotten lost in the paperwork again, so when she heard the light rap of knuckles against her door jam, she gasped and held one hand over her now racing heart. The man at the door was the last person she'd thought she'd see tonight, but she couldn't contain the pleasure that coursed through her as he walked into her office carrying a bag of takeout.

"I wasn't sure if you'd eaten yet, but I thought I'd take a chance," Bucky told her as he sat on the love seat and patted the cushion next to him. "Come on. You can take a ten minute break to eat something."

"You didn't have to do this, Bucky," she told him as she padded barefoot across the plush carpeting toward the sitting area.

He glanced down at her bare feet and raised his eyebrows in question.

"You don't really think I'm going to sit behind my desk all day in those heels, do you?" she asked as she opened the bag and inhaled the scent of her favorite Chinese takeout.

"You're not worried your boss is going to come in a catch you?"

She gave him a smile as she popped a piece of pork from the fried rice into her mouth. "In case you haven't noticed, quitting time was hours ago. In my opinion, once five o'clock hits, the dress code is out the window."

He nodded his head in acknowledgment of her reasoning and began to pull out the rest of the takeout containers. He handed her a pair of chopsticks as she twisted around on the the love seat so that her back was against the armrest and her feet were tucked up under her.

"I know I said you didn't have to do this," she told him as she took a bite of an egg roll, "but I'm so glad you did. I forgot to eat lunch and I was starving."

"I figured as much," he told her as he leaned back into his corner of the small sofa. "You're always cooking me breakfast, I thought bringing you dinner was the least I could do."

"Thank you, Bucky."

His eyes met hers and for a moment she forgot that they were in her office, and she forgot that this relationship wasn't real. For one brief moment she let herself imagine that this could become her life – she could get used to cooking him breakfast every morning and him bringing her food on the nights she worked late. She'd gone so long without anyone in her life, too busy worrying about schedules and deadlines, she'd forgotten how nice it was to have someone around.

She came back to reality and focused on the food before her. It wouldn't do her any good to dwell on a fantasy that had no possibility of coming true. She and Bucky had only known one another a few weeks and they were barely even friends. He was just a nice guy and she needed to stop reading into the situation.

Convinced that she had squashed those thoughts for good, her brain decided to remind her of that kiss on New Years'. She glanced up at him, somehow scared that he would know where her train of thought had gone, but he was currently fighting to get the lo mein to stop sliding off of his chopsticks. He was muttering curses under his breath, and she couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable he looked.

He'd packed the empty containers back into the bag before he'd risen to leave. They'd had an awkward moment at the door, each of them feeling like they should do more than just say goodnight. He'd ended up giving her a small salute as he turned and headed toward the elevators. She'd watched him until the doors began to close, giving him a wave as he disappeared from sight. It was a long while before she'd been able to concentrate enough to finish her work for the night.

 

 

They'd gone back to their normal routine, the awkwardness in her office forgotten as the week wore on. She was finally able to get caught up, so she treated herself to a morning at the spa on Saturday. Bucky had worked on Friday, so he wasn't there Saturday morning for breakfast. When he still hadn't gotten home by 8am, she figured he'd gotten stuck on an early morning call. Wanting to give him some peace and quiet, she'd decided to spend the morning running errands after her trip to the spa.

She'd gotten a full body massage and a facial, so she was feeling pampered and relaxed once she'd hit the streets of Brooklyn. She'd gone to a kitschy little consignment shop to look for picture frames to display the results of her and Bucky's impromptu photo shoot earlier that week. She walked through the aisles, scrolling through the camera roll on her phone to decide which photo went best with each frame she found, making sure to keep a detailed list in her Notes. She wasn't picky about whether they were 5x7's or 8x10's, figuring an assortment of sizes would make it seem more genuine. She stopped at a local drugstore to print out the pictures before heading home to put it all together.

Laying everything out on the island, she consulted her Notes and began to slide each print into the frame she'd chosen for it. Once they were all in their frames, she laid them out and took a step back. No one would ever be able to tell that these were taken on the same day – she was even having a hard time reminding herself that this wasn't seven months worth of memories.

Not wanting to wake up Bucky by hammering nails into the walls, she quietly slipped up the stairs to wash the remainder of the massage oil off of her skin. She sneaked a peak toward his room, but the door was still shut and she couldn't hear any signs that he was awake yet.

 

 

She'd noticed that his door was open as she made her way back downstairs, but it still came as a shock to find him in the kitchen holding up one of the photos. She could tell by the frame that it was the one the valet had taken of them dancing in the rain outside of the restaurant.

She'd found a solid oak frame that almost matched the color of the wood floors in the brownstone. It was an 11x14 frame with a black mat that made the lights reflecting off the rain drops more pronounced. It was her favorite out of all of them, and she'd planned to hang it right above the couch as a centerpiece.

"What do you think?" she asked as she came to stand beside him, admiring her handiwork.

"This is amazing, YN," he told her as he laid the picture back on the island. "If I hadn't been there, I'd never know this was all staged. You did a great job picking out the photos and the frames."

She was trying to concentrate on his words, but being this close to him was making it hard to think. She could still smell the traces of the Bvlgari shower gel he used, and she could catch traces of his mint toothpaste with every word he spoke. He'd opted not to shave, and there was a thin layer of stubble that made her fingers itch to reach up and scrape her nails along his jawline.

Noticing her start to lean closer to him, he turned toward her to figure out what she was doing. When he saw the blatant desire in her eyes, he drew in a sharp breath. Every instinct he had told him to kiss her, but he was hesitant to upset the careful balance they'd maintained since New Year's Eve. Reigning in his primal urges, he took a step away from her and feigned interest in another one of the photos.

"This is an interesting choice," he commented as he watched her slowly come back to her senses now that he was a few feet away.

He held up the picture, hoping she wouldn't come any closer. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his hands to himself a second time if she continued to look at him like that.

She took a deep breath to clear her mind as she focused on the picture he was holding up. It was the one from the Farmer's Market when he'd brushed his thumb along her chin after they bitten into the peach.

"The one of us sharing the peach was cute," she told him as she remembered the intimate gesture. "I thought that one looked less staged."

He nodded his head in agreement. "You're right about that. Do you have spots picked out for these? I can go ahead and get them hung if you do."

She gave him a snarky look that had him shaking his head and laughing. Of course she had spots picked out for everything.

"I put my boxes of wall hangings downstairs," she told him as she began walking toward the stairs leading to the ground floor. "We can get them in one load if you'll help me."

"Lead the way, doll," he told her as he followed her down the stairs to grab a box and the step ladder.

Within minutes, she had both boxes unpacked while he moved the couch away from the wall. She handed him the photo of them in the rain and he held it up against the wall while she stood back to tell if it was centered.

Between the two of them, they had all the photos and her other wall decorations hung up in less than an hour. He stood in the doorway of the living room to take it all in while she placed one of the last photos on the end table closet to the dining area.

She walked over to where Bucky stood to see the final outcome and was pleased with the result. The addition of the personal photos gave the room a homey feel that it had been lacking. She took another step back to get a better look and accidentally knocked into Bucky.

He'd taken a step closer to her, not realizing that she was moving back at the same time. They weren't moving fast enough to topple the other one over, but Bucky's arms instinctively went around her waist anyway. He'd thought she'd pull away immediately, so he was a little shocked when she crossed her arms and laid them over his, leaning back so that her head rested against his shoulder.

"These photos look nice," she said after a moment.

"I'm extremely photogenic," he quipped as she playfully elbowed him. "Seriously, though, we make a cute couple."

"You think?" she asked, looking at the photos in a different light. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Bucky looked down at the coffee table and noticed a couple of pictures that hadn't been placed yet. "What about those?"

She reluctantly moved out of his arms to retrieve one the pictures. It was the one of them at the Farmer's Market. YN ran her finger over the two of them before looking back up at him.

"There needs to be at least one in the master bedroom," she explained lamely. "May might never go up there, but if she does, it would look weird if there wasn't one, and this one is a little too intimate to be in the living room."

She waited to see if Bucky would buy her excuse, silently praying that he would. She knew it should worry her that she wanted a picture of the two of them in her bedroom, but as long as she kept telling herself it was only for appearances, she wouldn't feel as guilty. She'd never admit that she loved that photo and wanted to keep it close to her.

She picked up the other one and handed it to him. It was the one of them the little old lady had taken at the beach. "You should put this one in your man cave."

"Why not the bedroom?" he asked.

"That's technically the guest bedroom, so it would look a little weird to have a picture of us in there," she explained. "It would make more sense for you to have one in your favorite space."

He nodded his head, realizing she was right. Having a photo of them on his nightstand would have meant she was the last thing he saw before going to sleep and the first thing he saw upon waking up. He'd just have to settle for his man cave, but at least he'd get to keep one for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 11 of this story!  Were you worried that Bucky was actually bringing home a girl when he texted YN? How sweet was it that he brought her dinner at the office? I look forward to your comments!_


	13. Part 12

Tensions at the office had died down in the weeks following the press conference, and Tony was personally overseeing the production of his new prototype. YN didn't really know what it was that he was working on, but it wasn't her job to understand the inner workings of the device. All she was concerned about was how the product would be received by the business world and the pubic. 

Her life had gotten back to normal, or as normal as it could be living with a man that could make her heart race with one lopsided grin. She had hoped that constant exposure to Bucky would lessen the appeal, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect. 

He was a quiet roommate – never throwing late night parties, or turning his music up too loud – in fact, he was the best roommate she'd ever had. He'd balked at the chore calendar she'd created and hung on the cork board in the kitchen, but he never failed to empty the dishwasher or take the trash out when it was his turn. She was even convinced that he'd run the vacuum cleaner one day while she was at work, even though it was her week to clean the common areas.

All of this just improved her opinion of him and made it even harder to keep him firmly locked away in the friend zone. She was desperate to know if she had the same effect on him that he had on her, but that was one part of himself that he kept carefully locked away. He had a habit of brushing a stray piece of lint off of her shoulder, or sweeping his thumb across her cheek to wipe away a smear of ketchup, but his eyes never gave away his true feelings. 

It was slowly starting to drive her crazy thinking that he'd gotten over his initial attraction to her, but that she was still stuck pining away for him. They still shared their mornings together, but except for the occasional dinner, they rarely saw one another.

 

It was a Sunday afternoon in late January and Bucky had come home later than usual from his Saturday shift. She could tell from the dark circles under his eyes that he'd had a rough night, so she'd spent the better part of the morning curled up in bed reading a book so he could get some rest. 

She heard him start to stir below her and took the opportunity to run downstairs for a snack. He'd made the front bedroom his man cave, so she wasn't surprised to see him stretched out on the sofa flipping through the channels on his flat screen TV.

"What are you up to today?" he asked as he finally found the station he was looking for and placed the remote on the coffee table.

"Nothing really," she said with a shrug. "I was just reading a book and decided I wanted a snack before I found something to watch on TV. You want anything while I'm in the kitchen?"

He thought about it for a second before he responded with a chagrinned look. "I wouldn't ask, but you offered. I'd really love a bag of pretzels and a beer."

She shook her head and laughed at him as she headed downstairs to grab his requested items. As she pulled his beer from the fridge, she noticed a half empty bottle of wine she'd opened a few days ago. Looking at the clock, she decided it wasn't too early to have a glass with the fruit and cheese plate she'd made herself. She grabbed a wine glass and tucked it into the crook of her arm as she used one hand to grab both the bottle of beer and the bottle of wine. With her other hand, she balanced the fruit place on the bag of pretzels and carefully made her way back to Bucky's floor.

Seeing her loaded down with food and drinks, Bucky quickly jumped up and came to help her. "I'm sorry, YN." He took the bag of pretzels and her plate, freeing her hand to grab the wine glass. 

She sat his beer on the coaster in front of him, and her eye was drawn to the photo of them sitting on the end table. She knew it was only a prop, but for a second she wondered if he caught himself looking at it the way she did with the one in her bedroom. Shaking her head to clear her wandering thoughts, she came back to the here and now.

"It's no problem, I offered," she told him as she glanced at the TV. "What are you watching?"

"Playoff game," he told her as he sat back down on the couch. "Giants versus Packers. The winner of this game goes to the Super Bowl."

"Are you a Giants fan, or a Packers fan?" she asked as she eyed the Eli Manning jersey he was wearing.

He gave her a pained look, his hand clutching his chest in feigned horror. "Are you crazy, doll? I'm a Giants fan, through and through."

She struggled not to laugh at his obvious despair. "Oh, ok."

His brow furrowed as she watched him fight some sort of internal battle. Eventually, he seemed to make up his mind, gesturing toward the other end of the sofa. "You wanna stay and watch for a bit?"

She tried not to read too much into it, but she hoped that he just wasn't being polite and that he actually wanted to spend some time with her. Nodding her head, she sat down and poured herself a glass of wine before getting comfortable.

He'd obviously assumed that she knew nothing about football as he began to explain the different positions and plays that were being made on the field. She bit her tongue and only acknowledged his commentary with the occasional "ok," or "is that right?" 

He seemed to enjoy teaching her about football, so she didn't have the heart to stop him. She made it through the entire first quarter without giving herself away, but when the official called pass interference on one of her favorite players, she couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"Pass interference?" she yelled at the TV. "Are you blind? That ball was uncatchable. You can't call pass inference on an uncatchable ball."

Bucky paused with his beer halfway to his mouth, his eyes going wide as he finally realized his mistake. He looked back at the TV to hear the head referee reversing the original penalty of pass interference because the ball was indeed deemed to be uncatchable.

He sat his beer back on the coffee table and crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you enjoy that?"

"What?" she asked as innocently as she could. "It's not my fault you assumed that since I was a woman I didn't know the difference between quarterback and a tight end."

He shook his head as he sat back and continued to watch the game. Now that she didn't have to feign ignorance, she became quiet vocal about the game. It only took about two more plays before he realized that there was something else she'd been hiding from him.

"Wait a second," he said as he leaned forward and pointed an accusing finger in her direction. "You're a Packers fan."

"Dad is originally from Wisconsin," she explained as she took a sip of wine. "I grew up watching Packers games as a kid. It was hard not to fall in love with Brett Favre back in his glory days."

"Just when I was starting to think you were okay," he teased, trying to hold back a smile. "What do you say we make this game a bit more interesting?"

She eyed him warily as she wondered what he was talking about. "What did you have in mind?"

"If your team wins, I'll buy you dinner anywhere in the city, but if my team wins, you have to do all of the chores for the month of February."

She thought about his offer for a moment. Jemma had told her about a great new Thai place that had opened up near her old apartment and she was dying to go. Picking up an extra two weeks of chores wasn't that bad of a deal, but her team was up by two touchdowns, so she didn't think she had anything to worry about it. It would also give her a chance to spend an evening out with Bucky. In her mind, it was a win-win situation.

She held out her hand and waited for him to grasp it in his. "You've got a deal."

The game suddenly became a lot more interesting now that the stakes had risen. Bucky had initially been hoping for his team to rally so he could have an entire month off trash duty, but the longer he spent with her watching the game, the more he wanted her team to win. He knew she was an amazing woman, but the more time he spent around her, he realized that she was the perfect woman. The OCD tendencies could get annoying at times, but even he had to admit that he'd come to love their morning routine, and her schedule did make things easier around the apartment. He knew he was playing with fire, basically offering himself up as her date for an evening, but he truly enjoyed her company and he wanted to spend more time with her.

They were in the last seconds of the game and the Giants were up by a field goal when one of the Packers' players took a nasty hit and the medical crew had to be called onto the field. The TV cut to a commercial and YN rose from the couch.

"I need to go powder my nose," she said with a laugh and an exaggerated eye roll. "You mind if I use yours?"

He gestured toward the hall. "Be my guest, but be warned, the toilet seat is up."

She let out a chuckle as she started toward the hall. She glanced toward the windows and caught a flash of long strawberry blonde hair. Walking over, she let out a gasp as she saw who was on the street below.

"Bucky," she loudly whispered. "You've got to come see this."

He gave her a quizzical look, but came over to the window as she'd requested. When he saw who was crossing the street, his face broke out into a huge grin.

"Way to go, Rhodey."

She grabbed his arm as she bounced on her toes in excitement. "This is absolutely perfect. May and Rhodey must be getting serious if they're double dating with Tony and Pepper. Maybe they'll elope and she'll move in with him."

"That would take the pressure off of us, for sure," he said half heartedly. 

He knew he should be happy thinking about the prospect of their nosy landlady moving away so they could give up this fake dating charade, but Bucky wasn't so sure he was ready to give it up. He'd had more fun with her on their photo shoot a few weeks ago than he'd had on any date before that. There was a part of him that almost wished they weren't roommates so he could actually ask her out.

The TV switched back to the game, but the medical team was still loading the injured player onto the stretcher so YN made a mad dash to the bathroom, hoping she wouldn't miss any of the last seconds.

She made it back just as Aaron Rodgers threw a Hail Mary. Bucky jumped to his feet as the two of them waited to see who would catch the ball. This was the final play of the game and if Jordy Nelson caught it, the Packers were headed to the Super Bowl.

All of the players landed in a heap in the end zone and it was a few moments before the officials were able to pull enough men off of the pile to determine who had possession of the ball. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Giants wriggled free and bounced to his feet, the intercepted ball held high in his hands.

YN let out a groan as Bucky wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. "No chores for me next month."

"Rub it in, rub it in," she teased as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

Still laughing he fell back onto the couch, pulling her down with him. He landed half-sitting, half-laying against the arm rest with her back against his chest. Not ready to let her go just yet, he kept one arm wrapped around her waist as he reached for the remote.

"Let's see whether the Patriots or the Steelers are heading to the Super Bowl this year."

She knew she should move, but Bucky seemed content. She let herself relax as she leaned her head back against his chest. He flipped through a few channels until he found the AFC Championship game, but neither one of them were that enthusiastic about this one. They didn't even make it to the fourth quarter before they'd both fallen asleep.

 

YN awoke the next morning to the sound of the alarm on her phone, but when she reached toward her nightstand to turn it off, she couldn't find it. She heard a groan behind her and at once she remembered where she was. Twisting around she was met with one sleepy blue-grey eye peeking out at her from behind a curtain of long, dark lashes.

"I'm so sorry, Bucky," she said as she scrambled to untangle herself from him and reach her phone on the other end of the coffee table.

"It's okay, doll," he told her. "I'm usually up around this time anyway."

Embarrassment was rolling off of her in waves as she tried not to dwell on the fact that she'd just spent the entire night curled up in Bucky's arms. She tried to think of something to say, but she was too flustered to string two words together. With one final glance in his direction, she smiled lamely and fled to the privacy of her own room.

Bucky lay on the sofa a few minutes longer, trying to hold on to the way it had felt to wake up with her in his arms. They hadn't meant to fall asleep on the couch together last night, but he couldn't be sorry about it. He wasn't normally the kind of guy that liked to cuddle, but even he couldn't deny that her body fit perfectly against his own. Just another detail to add to his growing list of reasons why she just might be the woman for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 12 of this story!  As a football fanatic, I always take offensive when a man assumes I know nothing about the game and starts to mansplain, so I felt the need to add that into my story. Did you like the bet they made? Who were you hoping would win? Now that they’ve spent the night curled up on the couch together, do you think it’s going to be harder to deny their feelings?  I look forward to your comments!_


	14. Part 13

YN had spent the better part of the day on Super Bowl Sunday cooking and baking for the party she and Bucky were hosting that evening. He'd worked the night before and when he'd come home looking haggard and worn out, she'd sent him straight to bed. She preferred to cook in an empty kitchen anyway – less people interrupting her flow.

She was just on her way up to grab a shower when she saw Bucky emerge from his bathroom in nothing but a towel. There was a part of her that hated when he did that, but she also couldn't deny that she loved the sight of him half-naked with drops of water still clinging to his torso.

"Don't tell me you're already finished?" he asked as he took in the sight of her, smears of powdered sugar down the front of her yoga pants.

"Just finished up," she told him with a wave of her hand. "It's no problem, I love to cook."

"I just feel bad that you do all the work prepping for these parties while I'm up here sleeping," he told her as he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Especially today. Now if the Packers had won a few weeks ago, I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty watching you do all the work. . ."

She playfully slapped at the hand on her shoulder as he rubbed it in for the umpteenth time that her favorite team had lost the NFC Championship game. "Just for the record, since I did all of the cooking today, you're on clean-up duty tonight."

"Nuh-uh," he disagreed. "I don't think so, doll. We had a bet and you lost."

"The bet was only for the chore schedule," she reasoned as she poked him in the chest. "This is a special occasion and like you love to remind me, it's your team that's playing tonight. Besides, I have to work tomorrow, it's only right that you clean up."

"Okay, okay," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. 

She gave him a satisfied nod and started toward the stairs to her room. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to get cleaned up before our friends get here."

He reached out and grabbed her arm as he gave her a questioning look. "What are you planning to wear tonight?"

She tilted her head as she considered his question. "I hadn't really thought about it. I'm probably just going to throw on something comfortable."

He began walking toward his room, pulling her along behind him. "Come on, I have just the thing."

She allowed him to pull her into his room, secretly thrilled that she was finally going to get a chance to see what it looked like. She'd wanted to sneak in and take a peek, but she'd told herself that it would be rude. Now that she'd snagged an invitation, she was ready.

The first thing she noticed was that the bed was made. She shouldn't have been surprised, she'd noticed within the first two weeks how neat he was. He had a simple blue and grey quilt with shams to match. His bedroom furniture was all dark walnut and looked expensive. There were a few photos of him and his friends scattered around, as well as a few knick knacks he must have collected over the years.

He motioned for her to sit on the bed and she happily complied. He opened the closet door and was met with another surprise. All of his clothes were neatly hung up and divided into sections for pants and shirts. Those sections were then organized by color. He'd made fun of her for her OCD tendencies, but it seemed as though he had a few himself. 

He reached into the closet and pulled out something. Returning the hanger to its original spot, he tossed the shirt her way. 

She held up the worn jersey and gave him a sideways glance. "You really expect me to wear this?"

He let out a chuckle when he saw the look of disgust on her face. "It's for one night, YN. Besides, you're supposed to be my girlfriend, and a good girlfriend would wear one of her boyfriend's jerseys on Super Bowl Sunday."

"Let me get this straight," she said as she held up the jersey to give it sniff. "According to your logic, if my Packers had won, you'd be wearing an Aaron Rodgers jersey for me tonight?"

"First of all," he teased, "that jersey is clean, so there's no need to smell it. Secondly, absolutely not."

She quickly twirled the jersey in her hands and whipped it out to smack him in the leg. He let out a yelp as he jumped away from her, rubbing his thigh to ease the pain.

"You're lucky I'm a good pretend girlfriend," she said as she rose from the bed to go back to her room. "I'll wear the jersey, but I won't be happy about it."

He gave her a wink as she left. He followed her to the door, shutting it behind her so he could get changed. 

He'd just pulled on his own jersey when he heard her phone ringing behind him. Looking on the bed, he realized she must have forgotten it. He grabbed it to take to her, but when he saw the lock screen, he drew up short. He immediately recognized the image from the night they'd danced in the rain outside of the restaurant. He tried to tell himself that it was just for show, but there was a part of him that wondered if maybe she was starting to develop the same feelings as him.

He walked up the stairs to her room, realizing that this was the first time he'd been up here since New Year's Day. He knocked on her door and waited.

She heard the knock and was momentarily confused. Bucky never came up here and for the life of her, she couldn't imagine why he was here now. She glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror, wearing nothing but her underwear with a towel still on her head. Grabbing the robe from the back of the bathroom door, she slipped it on and peeked into the hall. 

"What's wrong?" she asked, startling him since he'd been facing her bedroom door.

He held out her phone. "You left this in my room. Jemma called, but I wasn't sure if you would want me to answer."

"Oh," she said as she took the phone from him. "You could've answered, I wouldn't have minded."

"I didn't want to assume," he told her, "but just for the record, if it ever happens to you, feel free to answer mine as well."

"Thanks, Bucky," she said as she began to close the door. "Give me about twenty minutes and I'll be down."

He nodded and turned to walk away. He stopped and looked back toward her, desperate to ask about the lock screen photo. Losing his nerve, he continued down the stairs.

 

May had been thrilled to see all of the pictures scattered throughout the room and had asked about each one. YN had been glad that she and Bucky had taken the time to make up different explanations for all of them. If they'd learned one thing during this whole process, it was that the two of them were really good at playing off the other one. YN would start talking and then Bucky would immediately pick up the story, adding embellishments that she hadn't even thought of. Even Steve had played along, adding in some made up details about the shot with him and Peggy. 

Most of the guys had headed upstairs to Bucky's man cave to watch the game, while the women stayed downstairs to go over the wedding plans for Jemma and Leo. Normally YN would have been with the guys watching the game, but she didn't really care who won, and she could still see the TV from the island in the kitchen were they'd set up camp.

Tony and Pepper were happy to stay in the living room with May, Rhodey, and Peter as they watched the game. YN could tell that May and Pepper had become fast friends as the two women talked animatedly while the boys watched the game.

Jemma had brought her wedding binder and they were currently picking out different options for flowers. The bridesmaids dresses had been ordered last month, so they were just down to the final details before the wedding in April. They had a cake testing scheduled for later that week, and YN had insisted she get to attend that appointment. There was nothing worse than bad cake at a wedding.

May and Pepper wandered into the kitchen as Jemma was debating whether to go with calla lilies, roses, or a mixture of the two. 

"Here's a new set of eyes," Jemma said as she cornered the two new arrivals. "Which do you think is better?"

May and Pepper looked at the photos of the three different bouquets for a moment. "I like the one with both flowers," May told her as she filled up her plate with more food.

"I have to agree with May," Pepper said as she, too, filled up a plate. 

Jemma turned the photo over in her hands, giving it another look. "Daisy and YN liked that one as well. I guess it's settled then. Thank you, ladies."

"When did you say you were getting married?" May asked as she refilled her glass of wine.

"The end of April," Jemma replied, her face breaking out in a smile as she thought about her upcoming nuptials. "We've found the most beautiful place called the Inn at Fox Hollow in Woodbury."

"Woodbury?" May asked. "That's out toward Long Island, right?"

"Yes," YN said. "Far enough away that that you don't feel like you're in the city anymore, but still close enough to JFK for all of the out of town guests."

"That sounds just wonderful," May said as she laid a hand over her heart. "I just love weddings – they're so romantic, don't you think so Pepper?"

"Yes, they are," Pepper responded with a smile.

"Are you and Tony going?" May asked Pepper.

"As a matter of fact, we just got our save the date card in the mail a few weeks ago," Pepper said. "Tony swears he couldn't live without Jemma and Leo in the lab."

YN shot a nervous glance toward Daisy. She had a sneaking suspicion that May was about to score herself an invite to this wedding, and Jemma would probably walk away thinking it was her idea to invite her. Daisy caught YN's eye and gave her a tight-lipped smile as she also realized what was going on.

"Tony seems like such an amazing boss," May remarked. "I don't know too many employers that would make time to attend their employees' wedding." She let out a sigh before continuing. "I couldn't tell you the last time Peter and I had a chance to get out of the city. It must have been before Ben passed when he took us on a vacation to Hershey Park."

"Oh, no," Jemma said with a look of pity on her face. "You know, May, my cousin and her husband just rang yesterday to let me know they weren't going to be able to attend. Why don't you and Peter come in their place?"

YN took a long drink from her wineglass as she realized that Jemma had played right into her landlady's hands. YN couldn't blame Jemma though – May was such a sweetie, and Peter was a great kid – this just made things a bit more complicated for her though. Now she was going to have to ask Bucky to be her date and she wasn't sure how that was going to go over.

 

The girls finished up their conversation and everyone made their way upstairs to watch the last few minutes of the game. The Patriots were up by two points and they had the ball. There was too much time left on the clock for Brady to take a knee and end it, so they were forced to run a few more plays.

YN had made her way to Bucky's side of the couch, sitting on the armrest beside him as she watched to see if his Giants could pull off a miracle. Tom Brady had the ball and was trying to hand it off, but Jason Pierre-Paul, the defensive end for the Giants, went in for the sack. Brady spun away, but not before Pierre-Paul grabbed his passing arm causing the ball to go airborne. Pierre-Paul took advantage of the situation, grabbing the ball and gaining about twenty yards before he was taken down around the forty yard line. Within seconds, the Patriots had gone from having the game in the bag, to giving the Giants the ball back with plenty of time to score again.

The tension in the room was high as everyone waited to see if Eli Manning could at least get his team within field goal range. Even though YN wasn't a Giants fan, it was easy to get swept away in the excitement of seeing Tom Brady being defeated. 

The Giants ran a few running plays, eating time off of the clock. They'd gotten one first down, but they were starting to falter. The Giants running back, Shane Vereen caught a short pass from Manning and was able to gain enough yards to get them into field goal range.

At this point, the entire room was on their feet, waiting to see if the kicker, Josh Brown, could score a field goal that would win them the game. YN felt Bucky reach down and grab her hand, and she took a moment to glance toward him, but he was completely focused on the screen.

When the ball sailed straight through the goal posts, the room erupted in cheers. YN wasn't prepared when Bucky suddenly grabbed her, lifting her up and spinning her around in the air. Caught up in the moment, she went with it, laughing as she held onto his shoulders.

Bucky stopped spinning and lowered her back to the ground, her body sliding down his until her feet hit the floor. Before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned down and kissed her.

She wanted to blame the heightened emotions from the game, but she knew it was just an excuse. She'd been aching to kiss Bucky again since New Years, but there just hadn't been an opportunity. Pushing away her doubts, she buried her hands in his hair and lost herself in the kiss.

He'd finally had to break away before he was tempted to throw caution to the wind and carry her back to his bedroom. He told himself that it was because they had a house full of guests, but deep down he still wasn't sure she wasn't just playacting. He wanted her, but he just wasn't ready to admit that to her just yet. He wanted to make sure that she felt the same way as he did before he really made a move on her.

She gave him a smile as she untangled herself from his arms, following her friends down the stairs as they said their goodbyes. 

He stayed upstairs and started picking up the empty plates and beer bottles. Steve and Peggy had stayed behind to help with the clean up and he was grateful.

"So, what was that all about?" Steve asked as gathered up empty beer bottles.

"What are you talking about?" Bucky asked.

Peggy gave a snort of disbelief. "The kiss, you idiot."

"Oh, that," Bucky said, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. "May was here, so I thought it would add to the charade. You and Steve kissed after the final play."

Steve nodded his head, admitting that Bucky made a valid point. "I guess. It just seemed like you meant it."

"That's the point, man," Bucky explained. 

"I think what Steve is trying to say is that he's worried you two might be taking this fake relationship too seriously," Peggy interjected as she picked up the photo on the end table. "I mean look at the two of you. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were actually in love."

Bucky grabbed the photo from Peggy and placed it back in its spot. "I understand your concern, but YN and I have this under control. You two only see us together when we're pretending to be a couple. Most of the time we rarely see one another. I mean, sure, we've gotten to be friends, but I swear that's all there is to it."

Peggy and Steve shared a worried glance before Steve turned back to Bucky. "You're really going to sit there and try to convince me that you're not the least bit attracted to the smoking hot woman living in the same house as you?"

Bucky ran a hand down his face in frustration. "What do you want me to say, Steve? She's gorgeous, even I can admit that, but we're just roommates."

"Okay, Bucky," Peggy said as she laid a hand on his arm. "If you say you're just friends, then we'll believe you. We just don't want to see you get hurt. After Dot. . ."

"First of all," Bucky interrupted, "I'm done talking about Dot, and second, YN is absolutely nothing like her."

Peggy and Steve didn't respond, letting the conversation die as they finished cleaning up the room. Once they were finished, Bucky showed them out, thanking them for coming and telling them to drive safely. He locked the door and took the bag of trash into the kitchen where he found YN putting away the leftovers.

"I thought you told me that this was my job," he teased.

She gave him a smirk as she rolled her eyes at him. "You knew I wouldn't just go to bed and let you do this all yourself. I needed to talk to you about something, anyway, so this just gave me something to do until Steve and Peggy left."

"What's up?" he asked as he leaned on the island.

She stopped what she was doing and leaned down on the other side facing him. "May has managed to do it again."

He closed his eyes and lightly banged his forehead against the cold marble. "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not," she said with a chuckle, "but you'll find out eventually. She snagged an invite for her and Peter to Jemma and Leo's wedding in April."

Bucky looked back up at her with a grimace. "I guess that means I'm going to the wedding now?"

She gave him an apologetic smile as she patted his hand. "It looks that way, doesn't it?"

He shook his head as he stood up and grabbed the trash bag, heading to the back door to put it in the can outside. "Please tell me that there's at least going to be an open bar at this shindig?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 13 of this story!  Another party with May and another kiss! Do you think Steve and Peggy have reason to be worried? May has also managed to get an invite to Jemma’s wedding, so that should be interesting, don’t you think?  I look forward to your comments!_


	15. Part 14

"So, are we going to talk about that kiss last Sunday?" Daisy asked as she pulled away from the curb in front of YN's brownstone Friday evening, heading toward the bakery that Jemma had chosen to make her wedding cake.

Jemma turned around in her seat to give YN a wink.  "I was about to tell you guys to go get a room, it was that steamy."

"Guys, come on," YN complained as she threw her head back in frustration.  "You two know that this is all just a ruse for May's benefit."

Daisy met YN's eyes in the rear view mirror.  "Sweetie, you tell yourself that all you want, but I see the way you look at him."

Jemma nodded her head in agreement.  "Daisy's right.  I haven't see you look at a man like that in. . .hmph, now that I think about it, I've never seen you look at a man like that before."

"You two are being ridiculous," YN said as her two friends began to make noises of disagreement.  "Are you guys actually being serious right now?  I mean, I know Bucky is a good looking guy, but we're just roommates, possibly friends, but definitely nothing more than that."

"Oh, honey," Jemma said.  "You can't see it, can you?  If it makes you feel any better, I think he's starting to fall for you as well."

"Oh, definitely," Daisy agreed, turning to Jemma.  "Did you see those photos?  I know it's fake, and I almost believed the stories they were telling."

YN gave up trying to fight her friends on the matter, instead choosing to let them keep going on and on about the elaborate ruse she and Bucky had created.  She knew she was in danger of falling for him, if she hadn't already, but she'd never admit it to her friends.  She and Bucky had a good thing going, and she wasn't going to be the one to rock the boat.

They finally pulled up in front of the bakery and she was never so happy to get away from her friends in her life.  Walking through the doors made her forget about the conversation in the car as she breathed in the sweet aroma of cake batter and buttercream frosting.  

As Jemma went to the counter to tell them she was here for her tasting, YN perused the case of cupcakes, mentally picking out the ones she planned to take home with her today.  There was a chocolate one with peanut butter frosting that was just screaming her name.  

The tasting was everything she'd dreamed it would be as sample after sample was placed before them to try.  Jemma was dead set on having at least one layer of plain white cake, but Daisy and YN were insistent on her choosing something different for the rest of the layers.  They ended up convincing her to go with a lemon layer with raspberry filling and a German chocolate layer with chocolate mouse filling.  Leo had asked for his groom's cake to be carrot with cream cheese icing, so they were going to have a nice variety for people to choose from.  Jemma placed her order while YN and Daisy made their way back to the cupcakes.  

"Which ones are you getting?" Daisy asked as she bent down to see the ones on the bottom shelf.

"I know I'm getting a couple of the chocolate peanut butter ones, but I'm debating on whether or not to get the red velvet or the lemon," YN told her as one of the employees came over to get their orders.

"What's Bucky's favorite flavor?" Daisy asked with a smirk.

YN gave her a glare as Jemma walked over.  "Chocolate, which is why I'm getting two, but don't read anything into it.  I just don't want him to steal mine."

"Sure," Jemma said as she bumped YN's hip with her own.  "I think I'm getting a strawberry for me and a chocolate one for Leo."

The three of them made their final choices and the cashier rang them up while they waited for their cupcakes to be boxed.  YN was the last to pay and as she was putting her credit card back in her wallet, her phone began to ring.

"Is it Bucky?" Daisy asked teasingly.

YN looked down at the display and mentally groaned.  It was Bucky.  Turning her back on her friends, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"YN?" a slightly familiar voice asked.

YN took a second to place the voice and let out a gasp when she realized who it was.  "Steve?  Is everything okay?  Did something happen to Bucky?"

"Calm down, YN," Steve cajoled.  "There was an accident on one of the calls we were on.  I won't bore you with the details, but a beam came down and knocked Buck out for a few minutes.  We're at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn.  They've got Bucky back in CT, and they're pretty sure he's got a concussion."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," YN told him as Jemma and Daisy gave her worried glances.

"You don't have to come, YN," Steve told her.  "I just wanted you to know what was going on."

"No, Steve," she insisted.  "I'm coming.  You probably have to get back to work and someone's going to have to make sure he gets home if they release him tonight."

"Okay," Steve said.  "We're still in the ER, but I'll text you if anything changes."

"Thanks, Steve," YN said as she hung up the phone and turned back to her friends.  "Bucky was in an accident at work.  He's getting a CT scan, and they're pretty sure he has a concussion.  Do you mind driving me to the hospital?"

"Oh, sweetie, of course I will," Daisy assured her as they rushed out to the car.

No one said a word as they drove through the thick traffic toward the hospital.  YN's mind kept going to the worst case scenario, and she did her best to remind herself that Steve had seemed calm.  He would have told her if things were more serious than they were.

They finally made it to the hospital and YN rushed to exit the car.  She stopped when she heard Jemma call out for her.

"YN, wait," Jemma called from the passenger side window.  "Give us your keys and we'll go get your car for you."

She nodded as she handed Jemma her keys.  "Thank you guys."

"We'll be back in a little bit," Daisy told her.  "Try not to worry too much."

YN gave them a weak smile as she made her way to the doors of the ER.  She hadn't had many opportunities to visit an ER and she was surprised at how many people were sitting in the waiting room.  She walked up to the receptionist and inquired about Bucky.

"I'm sorry, miss" the lady said.  "We don't have a Bucky Barnes admitted to the ER."

YN had a moment of panic as she struggled to remember what Bucky's real name was.  "Try James Barnes, Bucky is just a nickname."

The receptionist nodded her head as she typed the request into the system.  "How are you related to the patient?"

Again YN panicked, not knowing whether to lie to this woman or not.  Deciding that getting to Bucky was more important than hospital procedures, she went with the lie.  "I'm his girlfriend.  His coworker, Steve Rogers called me and told me that he was injured on a fire call."

The receptionist gave her a little smirk.  "You're dating one of those good looking firemen?  Lucky you."  She scrolled down the screen a little before looking back up at YN.  "I've got a note here that says YN (YLN) should be allowed back upon her arrival.  Are you YN (YLN)?"

YN pulled out her ID and passed it through the little window.  "I am."

The lady handed YN back her ID and hit a button by her desk.  "Just go through those doors.  I'll let the nurse know you're on your way back."

YN thanked the lady and headed toward the door she'd indicated.  She was momentarily taken aback at how busy the actual ER was – doctors and nurses were rushing from room to room while machines beeped and alarms sounded.  She saw Steve sitting in a chair, his head cradled in his hands.  YN had never seen any of them in their uniforms, and although she shouldn't have been, she was surprised at how dirty Steve was.

Not waiting for a nurse, she made her way to him.  "Steve, how is he?"

Steve looked up and relief flooded his face.  "He's still not back from CT."

"How bad is it?" she asked, imploring him to be honest with her.

"It could have been worse," he admitted.  "He got lucky that the beam wasn't on fire when it fell.  He still took a hard hit to the head, but he was conscious on the way here.  Wanda and Vis were the ones to bring him in and they said they thought it was just a mild concussion."

YN sat in the chair beside him, the adrenaline rush wearing off as exhaustion took over.  "Thank God he's okay.  I was trying so hard not to worry too much, but I've never had to deal with anything like this before."

Steve reached over and took her hand in his.  "It's a lot for anyone, YN.  You and Bucky are just roommates, so of course you wouldn't be prepared for this."

A look came over YN's face at Steve's last words and for a minute he wondered if maybe there was something more going on between the two of them.  He brushed it aside as the nurse began wheeling Bucky into the room.

YN immediately jumped to her feet to make space for the hospital bed to maneuver into the room.  Bucky was in a thin, faded gown with a white sheet pulled up to his chest.  His eyes were closed and he looked pale beneath the layers of grime on his face.

Once the nurse had him hooked back up to the blood pressure machine, he opened his eyes.  Somehow they looked bluer than they ever had before and YN couldn't help but smile when she saw them light up at the sight of her.

"YN?" he asked, his voice a bit scratchy.  "What are you doing here?  How did you. . . ?"  He stopped mid sentence and upon seeing the guilty look on his best friend's face, realized the truth.  "Steve called you."

She walked up to the side of the bed and grasped one of Bucky's hands in hers.  "Of course Steve called me, and of course I came."

"I'm fine, YN," he assured her, "and that punk shouldn't have worried you."

"Watch who you're calling a punk, jerk," Steve said with a laugh as he walked over to the other side of Bucky's bed.  "If it weren't for me, you might still be laying unconscious in a burning building."

"See what I have to put up with?" Bucky asked YN with a weak grin before turning back to Steve.  "You've always got my back, pal. I don't know what I do without you."

"Let's never find out," Steve said as he blinked a few times, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.

The doctor chose that moment to come in.  "Lt. Barnes, you're a lucky man.  You have a very mild concussion.  If you have someone that can keep an eye on you tonight, I'll discharge you, otherwise you'll be spending the night with us."

"I can take care of him," YN said as she squeezed Bucky's hand. 

"And you are?" the doctor asked.

YN looked down at Bucky, not sure how she should answer him.

"She's my girlfriend, doc," Bucky said with a grin.  "We live together, so it won't be a problem for her to check up on me tonight."

The doctor raised his eyebrows and gave YN a dazzling smile.  "You are definitely a lucky man, Lt. Barnes.  I'll get the discharge paperwork together and you'll be on your way in about a half hour.  I'll be back to go over discharge instructions with Ms. . ."

"YN," she said.  "Please just call me YN."

"Ms. YN," he finished.  "Give me just a few minutes."

The doctor left and Steve crossed his arms over his chest.  "So, we're telling everyone that lie now?"

"Come on, man," Bucky said with a sigh.  "I wasn't sure he'd let me go home if he knew YN was just my roommate, and anyway, she'll take great care of me, won't you doll?"

YN had been a little shocked that he'd told the lie as well, but she decided to keep it to herself.  "I don't see the harm, Steve.  You will all be working tonight and it's the weekend.  It's no problem for me to take care of him."

"Okay," Steve conceded.  "Now that I know you're okay, I need to get back."  He turned to YN with a questioning look.  "Did you drive here?"

"I was actually with Daisy and Jemma," she told him, "but they went back to the house to get my car. They should be back any minute."

Steve said his goodbyes and left just as the doctor came back with the discharge paperwork.  He instructed YN to wake up Bucky every few hours to make sure he was alert and oriented to his surroundings.  He didn't prescribe any narcotics, telling Bucky that some over the counter painkillers would be fine.  Bucky was instructed to take at least three days off work and to make a follow up appointment with his regular doctor to be released back to work.

Wanda and Vis had taken Bucky's turnout gear back to the station, so he was only left with the uniform he'd had on underneath.  YN pulled the clothes from the plastic bag the hospital had provided and wrinkled her nose at the smell.

"I keep a clean uniform in my locker to wear home if I've been on a call," he told her when he saw her reaction to his clothes.  "We have a washer and dryer at the station that I usually use to wash those."

"I appreciate you not bringing these home," she said as she stuffed it back in the bag. "Let me go talk to one of the nurses.  Maybe they'll let you borrow some scrubs to go home in."

Once YN had gotten a set of scrubs for Bucky, Daisy texted to let her know that they were outside.  "Can you get changed by yourself while I go get the keys to my car?"

"I'm still a bit woozy," he told her.  "You go get the keys and I'll have one of the nurses help me."

YN nodded and headed toward the exit to meet Daisy and Jemma.  She thanked them as they handed over the keys and pointed out where they'd parked the car. 

Once Bucky was dressed, the nurse helped him into a wheelchair as YN ran back out to the parking lot to retrieve the car.  Once Bucky was buckled in, she headed home.

Getting Bucky up the steps of the brownstone was interesting as his center of balance kept shifting.  They finally made it up to his floor and YN had him sit on the edge of the bed while she grabbed him some pajamas and turned down the covers.

"You really need a bath," she told him with a grimace as she held the pajamas to her chest.

He gave her a pleading look.  "Will you help me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 14 of this story!  I’ve had a few people comment that they were worried that something might happen to Bucky on a fire call, and of course we had to have a part where Bucky gets hurt. Now our Reader is going to be his nurse for the weekend. How do you think this is going to go? How do you think she’s going to handle that final request?  I look forward to your comments!_


	16. Part 15

Her eyes grew wide as she processed his request.  She couldn't very well tell him no – he obviously needed her help, but how were they going to manage this and still keep his modesty was beyond her.

"S-sure," she finally said as she turned and headed toward the bathroom.  "I'll fill the tub, you just sit there."

She pulled the stopper on the tub and turned on the faucets.  While the tub was filling, she stared at herself in the mirror above the sink and tried to convince herself that this was just one friend helping out the other.  Dragging her hands down her face, she acknowledged the fact that she was lying to herself.  She'd wanted to get him naked since the day they'd met, and she'd done a great job of controlling herself around him so far.  Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she opened the small linen closet and retrieved a couple of towels and a wash cloth to lay on the edge of the sink.

Once the tub was filled she headed back into the bedroom to find Bucky sitting exactly where she'd left him.  He gave her a weak smile as she draped one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him to his feet.  He was a little bit steadier as they shuffled to the bathroom, but she knew he'd never be able to get in and out of the tub on his own.

When she was sure he had his balance, she helped him slip the scrub top over his head.  She'd been out getting the car when the nurse had helped him change into the scrubs so she hadn't seen the bruises that covered his chest and back.

"Are you in pain?" she asked as she lightly ran her fingers over one of the bruises on his chest.

"Not too much," he told her.  "The Motrin they gave me at the hospital wasn't that strong, but I've been beat up worse than this before."

One of her eyebrows arched as she gave him a stern look.  "When you say 'beat up?'"

"I used to box," he said with a laugh.  "Steve didn't always look like Adonis.  Back when we were kids, he was a scrawny thing.  We took up boxing to help him fill out.  Steve's always thought that he could take on guys twice his size.  So, like the good friend I am, I'd step in and finish the fights.  Sometimes I got my butt handed to me, but eventually Steve got big enough to finish his own fights."

"I can't imagine Steve as a little guy," she said with a smile as she glanced toward the tub.  "Okay, that water is going to start getting cold, so we might as well get this over with."

"Okay," he said as he turned away from her toward the tub.  

She held onto his waist as he pulled the drawstring of the scrub pants and let them fall to the floor. He had his back to her, and she tried her best to keep her eyes looking straight ahead.  He pulled a foot free of the pants and took a step toward the tub before pausing for a moment.  Pulling the other foot free, he cautiously stepped over the side.

Once both feet were in the tub, he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.  "There are bars on the side here, so I think I can manage to sit by myself if you want to turn around."

"Are you sure?" she asked.  "I've seen a naked man before, Bucky."

"I don't doubt that, doll," he said with a chuckle, "but I'm sure."

She reluctantly let go of him and turned around.  She heard the water splash as he sat down, but she waited until he told her it was okay before she turned back around.

"I'm ready," he told her.  "If you get my back and my hair, I think I can manage the rest."

She turned back around to find him sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest.  She grabbed the wash cloth and his bottle of body wash before lowering herself to her knees.  She poured a bit of the green gel onto the cloth and started rubbing small circles along his back, careful of the bruises.

"Is the first time you've been seriously hurt before?" she asked, hoping that small talk would help alleviate the awkwardness of the situation.

"No," he said, trying and failing to hold back a moan as she continued to wash his back.  

"Did I hurt you?" she asked in alarm as she drew her hand back.

He let out a chuckle, his face starting to turn red.  "No, doll, just the opposite."

"Oh," she exclaimed. "I'm sorry?"

He peeked up at her, an embarrassed grin on his face.  "Don't be.  It's not every day that a beautiful woman helps give me a bath."

Now it was her turn to be embarrassed.  "I'm finished with your back, do you think you can do the rest and then I'll wash your hair?"

He reached out for the wash cloth and she rose to leave.

"Don't go.  You never know, I might drown," he teased as she shook her head.

She sat on the lid of the toilet with her back to him and tried to steer the conversation away from the previous subject.  "So, what's the worse thing that's happened to you since you became a fireman?"

He was silent for a moment, and she wondered if maybe she'd overstepped.  She was about to change the subject when he started speaking.

"9/11," he finally answered.  "9/11 was the worse thing that's ever happened to me."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay," he told her as he continued to wash the sweat and grime from his body.  "Most people just like to call us heroes and gloss over the tragedies of that day."

"I know you won some kind of award for valor," she said.

"How do you know that?" he asked, his voice full of suspicion.

Realizing her mistake, she buried her face in her hands.  "Oops.  Guess I'm busted."

"You looked me up, didn't you?" he asked, a trace of humor back in his voice.

"I may have had Daisy run a search on you after May told us we got the brownstone," she admitted.  "You can't blame a girl for being cautious, Bucky.  I mean, for all I knew, you were some kind of serial killer."

"You never cease to amaze me, YN.  What else did you find out?"

"Nothing much," she said as she started to trace patterns on the marble top of the sink vanity.  "Once we got to the hero part, Daisy and I stopped looking."  She waited a minute to see if he was going to say anything before she continued.  "So what did you do to earn that award?"

"Nothing any one of us wouldn't have done in the same situation," he told her.  "A section of the ceiling collapsed on top of Rhodey in the North Tower.  I happened to be on the same floor helping with evacuations and saw it happen.  He was unconscious, so I had to throw him over my shoulder and carry him down to the ground level.  The doctors initially thought he'd never walk again, but he proved them wrong."

"That's why Steve looked so shaken up when I got to the ER, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Bucky admitted.  "It really shook up all of the guys.  Steve had to order them all to stay on site while he rode with Wanda and Vis to the hospital.  As Captain, he should've stayed with his men, but Chief Coulson knew he needed to make sure I was okay."

"I can't even imagine how hard that must have been for you all," she said as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

"It's always hard when one of us goes down, but at least no one died today."

She chanced a peek over her shoulder to see him staring off into space.  "Did you guys lose someone on 9/11?"

He blinked a few times, bringing himself back to the present.  "Yeah, we lost one of our own.  His name was Riley, and he was Sam's best friend.  The South Tower had already collapsed and we were trying to get as many as possible out of the North Tower before it went down.  Sam thought Riley was right behind him, but when he looked back, Riley was nowhere to be seen.  We all took it pretty hard, but Sam blamed himself for a long time afterward."

She was trying to hold back the tears, knowing that she would just make it worse if she started crying.  Seeing Sam now, she would have never guessed that he'd suffered such a tragedy.  This entire day had put Bucky's career into a new perspective for her and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"I'm ready for you to get my hair," he said after a few minutes.

She took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face before she turned to face him.  "Well, you look a lot better than you did a few minutes ago."

He gave her a cheeky grin as she reached for the bottle of shampoo.  She'd only had a few opportunities to bury her hands in his thick hair, and she wan't about to take this opportunity for granted as she worked the shampoo into a lather.  She took a little longer than was necessary, but she was captivated by the expression on Bucky's face.  His eyes were closed as he leaned his head back, obviously enjoying the way her nails scraped along his scalp as she worked the shampoo into his hair.  His lips parted in a sigh of pleasure and it was all she could do not to lean over kiss him.  Pulling herself out of her little fantasy, she rinsed her hands in the bath water before standing to pull the detachable shower head from it's hook and turn on the water.  Quickly rinsing the suds from his hair, she went to turn the off the water, but he stopped her.

"Go ahead and put it back on the hook, but leave it on – I want to rinse off before I get out," he told her.

She did as he requested, pulling the curtain halfway so the spray from the shower wouldn't go everywhere.  She was worried about him standing by himself in the slick tub, but the bath seemed have rejuvenated him a bit.  When she heard the water turn off, she grabbed the towel and held it out behind her.

Once he'd gotten the towel wrapped around his waist, she turned around and helped him step over the lip of the tub.  He sat on the toilet while she used the other towel to dry his torso and his hair.  She bent down and dried his legs before helping him to slip his feet into his pajama bottoms.  She slid them up to his thighs and he held onto the waistband as she helped him to stand again.  He was pleased that he managed to pull them up without flashing her.  

Removing the the towel, he braced his hands on her shoulders as she tied the drawstring, her fingers grazing over the sensitive skin of his lower abdomen as she made a bow.  He tried his best to think about anything else, not wanting to embarrass himself by letting his baser desires get the best of him.

She slipped the t-shirt over his head and helped him slide his arms into the sleeves before they made their way back to his bedroom.

By the time he'd lain down, he was absolutely exhausted.  She pulled the covers over him and started back to clean up the bathroom.  "I'll set an alarm for every couple hours to wake you up like the doctor instructed.  Do you want me to get you anything before you fall asleep?"

"Some water and another Motrin, please," he said, his eyes half closed as he struggled to stay awake.

She took her time rinsing out the tub and putting away the dirty towels.  She peeked back into his room and saw that he was sound asleep.  She tiptoed down the stairs to get a glass of water for when he woke up in a few hours, but once she stepped foot in the kitchen, the stress of the past few hours caught up with her.  Pulling out a bar stool, she sat with her elbows propped on the island, her head in her hands.  

She'd known that his job was dangerous, but she hadn't truly been prepared for what had happened today.  She thought about Rhodey, and Sam's friend Riley, and realized that Bucky had gotten off lucky.  He'd warned her that the women in his life couldn't handle the dangers of his job, but now that she had seen it firsthand, she had a new respect for what he did.  Scared that she would doze off where she sat, she rose to get the glass of water before heading back upstairs.  

He hadn't moved since she'd left, obviously deep in sleep.  There was a lock of damp hair laying across his forehead and before she knew what she was doing, she reached over and swept it back.  That niggling feeling from a few weeks ago came back to her, but she pushed it aside.  

Not wanting to be too far away from him, she walked around to the other side of the bed and sat on the edge.  She programmed a few alarms into her phone before curling up on top of the covers.  Taking a moment to bury her face into the pillow, she breathed in the scent that was uniquely him before finally allowing sleep to claim her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 15 of this story!  I’d intended for this part to light and fluffy, but once I started writing the dialogue, it got pretty deep. How do you feel about Bucky’s job now that you know the tragedies he and the other guys faced on 9/11? Do you think this weekend will change things between them? I look forward to your comments!_


	17. Part 16

She'd been prepared to deal with a cranky, whining man for the next few days, but Bucky wasn't your stereotypical man.  He was needy, wanting her by his side all day Saturday and Sunday, but she hadn't minded too much seeing as how it gave her a chance to get to know him better.  The guys dropped by on Saturday evening to check on him, and YN took the opportunity to grab a quick shower before her nursing duties began again.

She'd thought she would only stay in his room Friday night, but they'd stayed up so late Saturday night talking, she'd fallen asleep beside him again.  She'd had every intention of sleeping in her own bed Sunday night, but Bucky had pulled out the puppy dog eyes, and she'd caved. 

When Monday morning rolled around, that's when he'd gotten whiny.  She'd woken up to find him wrapped around her, his chest flush against her back, and a certain part of his anatomy poking into her.  After an awkward few minutes of stammering while they tried to untangle themselves, they'd eventually broken down into a fit of giggles.  She knew she shouldn't read too much into it, most guys woke up like that in the morning, but there was a part of her that secretly hoped it was more than that.

She'd gone up to her room to get ready for work before heading to the kitchen to cook them both breakfast.  She'd made him start coming downstairs for meals on Sunday, so she wasn't surprised to see him fixing her coffee when she entered the kitchen.  The morning finally seemed normal, if you didn't count the fact that she'd spent the night in his bed for the third time.

He'd begged her to call in sick, but she'd refused, reminding him that he was getting around just fine on his own.  She did text him often throughout the day, urging him to take it easy and get plenty of rest.  He'd called his doctor and gotten an appointment for Tuesday, and she'd offered to take the afternoon off, but Steve had wanted to take him.

Going to work on Monday had broken the spell they'd been under, so when she bid him a goodnight and headed toward her room, he hadn't stopped her.  She normally slept like the dead, but for some reason, she tossed and turned the entire night.

He'd gotten a clean bill of health on Tuesday from the doctor with a release to return to work on Thursday, the fifteenth.  Things had gone back to normal between them, and a part of her was disappointed.  She'd almost let herself get her hopes up about him, but maybe it was better that they remained friends.

When she walked through the door Wednesday evening after work, she was shocked to see a vase of red and white roses sitting on the stairs.  She plucked the card from between the blooms and a smile came over her face as she read his handwritten words.

_Happy Valentine's Day, doll.  Go put on something nice because I'm taking you to dinner.  – Bucky_

She debated between taking the roses up to her room, but decided that she would rather leave them in the living room where she would get the most enjoyment out of them.  She called out for Bucky, but she was met with silence.  Not sure what he was up to, she did as he requested and went upstairs to change.

Sliding her feet into her favorite pair of pumps, she heard her phone ding with a new text message.  Checking the display, she couldn't keep the grin off of her face when she saw it was from Bucky.

_Your chariot awaits._

Her brow furrowed in confusion at his message, but she quickly grabbed her purse and headed down the stairs.  Opening the door, she let out a gasp.  Instead of his truck, Bucky was leaning against a sleek black Corvette with a heart-stopping smile on his face.  With dramatic flourish, he opened the door and helped her into the car.

"Where did you get this?" she asked once he'd slid behind the wheel.

"It's Nat's," he told her.  "She let me borrow it for the night."

"Not that I'm not impressed and extremely grateful, but why are you doing this Bucky?"

He reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze.  "I don't know what I would have done without you this weekend and I just wanted to treat you to a nice evening out to say thank you."

"On Valentine's Day?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

He gave her a smirk, dropping her hand to grab the gear shifter.  "I knew you didn't have any plans for tonight, and you deserved to be treated like a queen today."

His words had her heart melting as he turned his attention to the traffic ahead of them.  She'd gotten lost in her own thoughts, but when she saw a familiar building, her attention focused back on her surroundings.  She recognized the neighborhood that she'd lived in with Jemma up until a few months ago and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Where are we going, Bucky?"

He glanced at her with a wink, but refused to answer.  He made a few more turns before pulling into a parking spot along the curb.  He quickly rounded the car and opened the door for her, holding out a hand to help her.

She was struggling not to let his chivalrous behavior charm her into thinking this was more than what it was, but with every move he made, she was having a hard time keeping her head out of the clouds.  It didn't help when he tucked her arm into his and began to lead her toward a small restaurant.  When she looked at the sign, she recognized the name of the Thai place Jemma had told her about.

"How did you know?" she asked.

He gave her a sheepish grin.  "I might have called Jemma to ask for suggestions."

She was too excited about the prospect of Thai food to worry about the teasing she was sure to endure tomorrow from both Jemma and Daisy.  Once she'd finally tasted a bite, all thoughts of her friends flew from her mind.  She was completely lost in the heavenly flavors of her favorite dishes when she heard Bucky's phone chirp.  He wiped his hands on a napkin and checked the screen.  His expression was unreadable as he unlocked the phone and typed out a quick reply.  He flipped the ringer off and laid the phone back on the table face down, glancing back up at her with a weak smile.

Bucky had seemed a bit distant since the text message, so she suggested that they visit a used bookstore that YN used to love to wander around in on rainy Saturday afternoons to help get his mind off of whatever was bothering him.  He'd made a noise of protest, but followed her into the shop anyways.

She loved the smell of this store, that unique musty scent you could only get from an old book.  Newer books didn't have quiet the same smell, and you never knew what treasure you might find hidden in the crowded stacks.

She'd begun to wander, lost in the familiar atmosphere, and it was a few minutes before she realized that she'd lost Bucky.  She put down the book she was skimming to look around for him when she heard his voice coming from the other side of the aisle she was in.

"'Surely supernovas explode that instant, somewhere, in some galaxy.  The hut vanishes, and with it the sea and the sands – only Karun's body, locked with mine, remains.  We streak like superheroes past suns and solar systems, we dive through shoals of quarks and atomic nuclei.  In celebration of our breakthrough fourth star, statisticians the world over rejoice.'"

"What in the world are you reading?" she asked, trying to contain her laughter.

"It's from a book called _The City of Devi_ , by Manil Suri," he told her.

"That has got to be one of the worst sex scenes ever written," she said as she rounded the aisle to see him placing the book back on the shelf.

"Want to have a little fun?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

She bit her lip, not sure exactly what he had in mind, but deciding she really didn't care.  As long as she was spending the evening with Bucky, she was game for any suggestion he had.  "I'm in."

"We have twenty minutes to find the absolute worst sex scene ever written," he told her with a wink.  "The loser buys the other one ice cream."

She pretended to think about his offer, but she was secretly thrilled with the idea of the game.  "Challenge accepted."

She'd read a book a few years ago that'd had the most cringeworthy sex scene, and now all she had to do was find it.  She quickly ran her fingers over the rows of books, trying to remember what color the cover had been.  Checking her watch, she saw she only had about five minutes left and began to search faster.

"Ah ha," she exclaimed as she finally discovered it crammed between a copy of Dickens and a biography of Abraham Lincoln.  Flipping to the middle, she found the passage she was looking for.

"Find something steamy?" he whispered as he snuck up behind her.

Jumping slightly, she clutched the open book to her chest, her heart frantically beating against her rib cage.  She turned around and smacked his arm with the book.  "Don't sneak up on me, it's rude.  And yes, I did find something."

"Ladies first," he said with a smirk.

"Okay, are you ready for this?"  She cleared her throat and began to read the passage from Rachel Johnson's _Shire Hill_.  "'I find myself gripping his ears and tugging at the locks curling over them, beside myself, and a strange animal noise escapes from me as the mounting, Wagnerian crescendo overtakes me.  I really do hope at this point that all of the Spodders are, as requested, attending the meeting about slug clearance or whatever it is.'"

Bucky crinkled his nose in disgust when she got to the part about slugs.  "Seriously?  She's beside herself, but she's still thinking about slugs?  That's good, but I think this one is better."

"I don't know how anything can be worse than that, but try me."

He gave her a serious look as he opened the book to the page he wanted, his finger stabbing the page as he read with as much passion as he could muster.  "Slither slither slither slither went the tongue, but that hand that was what she tried to concentrate on, the hand, since it had the entire terrain of her torso to explore and not just the otorhinolaryngological caverns.'"

She closed her eyes as she tried to comprehend what he'd just read.  "What the. . .?  Let me see that."

She grabbed the book from him to read the cover – _I am Charlotte Simmons_ , by Tom Wolfe.  Shaking her head, she handed it back to him.  "Okay, you win, if only for your flawless pronunciation of that word.  I'm not sure exactly what it means, but unfortunately, I think I can guess."

Bucky slid the book into an empty spot on the shelf and grabbed her hand.  "Come on, doll, you owe me an ice cream cone."

Leaning into him and laughing, they walked back toward the door, but drew up short when they spotted May and Rhodey walking in.

"Oh," May exclaimed when she saw them.  "What are you two doing here?"

YN recovered first and began to explain.  "Bucky surprised me with dinner at the new Thai place around the corner and then we wandered into here to look around for a bit."

"That's so romantic, isn't it James?" May said, turning to Rhodey and laying a hand on his chest.

"Wait," YN said, looking at Bucky and then at Rhodey.  "Your name is James, too?"

Rhodey smiled and nodded his head.  "Things would be a little confusing around the fire house if the two of us didn't already have nicknames."  He raised his eyebrows at Bucky before continuing.  "Well, we won't keep you two lovebirds.  I promised May I'd read this book she recommended, so we're going to go see if we can find it.  I'll see you tomorrow, Bucky?"

"Yep," Bucky said with a smile.  "Doc released me to go back to work for tomorrow's shift.  I'm supposed to take it easy, but you know how that goes." He squeezed YN's hand as he began to lead her from the shop.  "You two have a lovely evening, and Happy Valentine's Day, May."

Bucky didn't let go of her hand as they walked down the street toward the ice cream shop.  She glanced down at their joined hands, realizing that for the first time since they'd met, they hadn't had to pretend in front of May.  Maybe it was because it was Valentine's Day, or maybe it was something else, but YN was finding it harder and harder to walk the line between fantasy and reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 16 of this story!  How did you like the Valentine’s day date? I know you guys were upset when Bucky’s team won the championship and she didn’t get her dinner, but I think it’s sweeter that he surprised her. Do you think Bucky was just saying thank you, or do you think he was looking for an excuse to take her out? I look forward to your comments!_


	18. Part 17

As the weeks wore on, YN couldn't decide if her relationship with Bucky was getting simpler or more complex.  Her hours at the office had become more regular while she waited for Tony to finish his work so they could go public, and Bucky had obviously noticed.  It had become routine for her to come home from work to find him in the kitchen cooking dinner for her.  He wasn't the world's best cook, but he was getting better day by day.

She was starting to feel like they were actually in a relationship, the way that Bucky would pour her a glass of wine as she walked through the door and then send her upstairs to change while he put the finishing touches on dinner.  More often than not, they'd end up on the couch in the living room with Bucky rubbing her feet while they watched episodes of their favorite shows.  They had discovered early on that they watched many of the same shows, so YN would record them and wait until he was off work so they could watch them together.

The domestic bliss they shared was starting to confuse her, though.  She tried to tell herself that she and Jemma had cooked one another dinner and watched TV together, but there was something different about doing those things with Bucky.  There was an underlying sexual tension that was starting to become harder to ignore each day. 

After his accident, things had shifted between them, and that's where her dilemma stemmed from.  She loved the easy way in which they fit into one another's lives, but she wasn't sure if it was smart for them to be so comfortable around one another.  Bucky had a habit of constantly touching her when he talked to her, and each time his fingers came into contact with her bare skin it sent a current of electricity through her.  She watched carefully to see if he felt the same way, but he seemed to be unfazed.  She was starting to think the attraction was completely one-sided and that would definitely complicate matters.

 

She'd come home from work one Friday in March to find Bucky in the kitchen like he normally was, but there seemed to be something off about him.  He handed her a glass of wine, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.  "You seem a little, I don't know, distracted this evening."

She had set the glass of wine on the island, her hand still wrapped around the stem as Bucky began to trace the outline of her knuckles with his fingers.  She struggled to keep her attention on the conversation and not let her mind drift to thoughts of those fingers sliding over other parts of her body.

"It's nothing," he said, refusing to meet her eyes.  "I'd hoped to spend the day with the guys tomorrow, but they've all got plans with their girlfriends."

"I don't have any plans tomorrow," she said.  "Was there something in particular you wanted to do?"

He looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowed with indecision.  "It's nothing important.  I wouldn't want to ruin your whole Saturday by forcing you to spend the day with me."

"Bucky Barnes, are you being serious?" she asked, offended that he thought spending the day with him would be an imposition.  "Tell me what you want to do and we'll do it."

For the first time since she'd walked into the brownstone, his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face.  "There's an exhibition called _Dark Universe_ at the Hayden Planetarium that I've been wanting to see."

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief.  "You want to spend the day at the Space Museum?"

"Yeah," he said, raking a hand through his hair with a sheepish grin.

YN had learned over the last few months that Bucky had certain tells – when he was trying to bluff he'd roll onto the balls of his feet and cock his head to the right, and when he was nervous he'd run his hand through his hair and look toward the floor.  Right now he was definitely nervous, and he looked absolutely adorable.  There was no way she was going to tell him no.

"I'd love to go," she said.  "What time did you want to leave?"

"Really?" he asked, grabbing both of her hands in excitement.  "Not too early, I was thinking around ten o'clock.  We can catch the show and walk around the museum a bit before grabbing lunch."

Pouncing on a golden opportunity, she made her own request.  "Since we're going to be at the museum, do you think that after lunch we could see the exhibition on Mummies?"

He gave her an adorable lop-sided grin.  "We'll make a day of it, just you and me."

"That sounds wonderful, Bucky."  She grabbed her wine glass and turned to head toward the stairs.  "I'm going to go get changed while you finish dinner, okay?"

"Sure thing, doll," he said, turning back to the oven.

 

Bucky had seemed as though he was waiting on her to say something when he came downstairs for breakfast the next morning, but she just ignored him and placed a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of him.  He gave her a questioning look, but when she asked him what was wrong, he just shook his head and began to eat. 

Their morning at the museum was more fun than two adults were supposed to have.  There was something about being around Bucky that brought out a light-hearted side of her.  She always seemed to have a smile on her face when she was with him, and he seemed to enjoy her company as well.

They'd chosen to eat in the museum at the Café on One, each of them getting a panini sandwich and a bowl of soup.  Bucky was still excited about the _Dark Universe_ exhibition, spending the entire meal talking about the discoveries and theories proposed in the film.  His enthusiasm was infectious and it was hard for her not be caught up in the thrill along with him. 

The mood was broken when his phone chirped.  Quickly looking down, he swiped his finger across the display and flipped the phone over on the table.  His smile seemed forced when he looked back up at her, but once they'd started talking again he began to relax and the moment was forgotten.

When they'd left the Café, he'd reached for her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.  He may not have been aware of what he was doing, but she was and it did nothing but add to the confusion she was already feeling toward him. 

They'd spent another few hours touring the Mummy exhibition and wandering through the museum.  She hadn't wanted to leave, but she knew that the real world was waiting on them, and they couldn't stay cocooned in their little bubble forever.

 

"Thank you, YN," he told her as they walked, hand in hand, up the stairs of the brownstone.  "I had a really good time with you today."

She squeezed his hand and gave him a smile.  "I had a really good time with you as well, Bucky.  We'll have to do that again sometime soon."

He slid the key into the lock and held the door open for her.  "YN, there's been something that I've wanted to talk to you about for awhile now. . ."

Seeing the look in Bucky's eye had her wishing that he could finish that thought, but they were interrupted when all of their friends popped out of their hiding places and yelled "Surprise."

Bucky stared at them all, wide-eyed in shock, before turning back to YN.  "Did you do this?"

Knowing that May was somewhere in the crowd gave YN all the incentive she needed to cup the back of his neck and kiss him.  She'd been wanting to kiss him again since the Super Bowl, but until now, she hadn't had an excuse.

"Happy birthday, Bucky," she whispered against his lips as his hands splayed across her back.

He gave her another quick peck as he reluctantly let her go.  He'd thought his friends had forgotten about him, and although he was glad they hadn't, their timing couldn't have been worse.  One by one, they came up to slap him on the back and wish him a happy birthday. 

He'd found out that it had been Steve's idea to throw the party, enlisting YN's help to keep him occupied all day so they could sneak in and decorate.  When he found out she'd been assigned babysitting duty, he'd felt guilty for dragging her to the space exhibition.  He wanted to believe that she'd enjoyed spending the day with him, but now he wasn't so sure.  He'd almost told her that his feelings for her were changing, and now he was glad he'd been interrupted.  What if she'd just been pretending all day?  He'd never be able to forgive himself for ruining their friendship, so he decided that it was best to bury his feelings and hope that one day she may see him as more than a friend.

His friends had gone simple – pizza and beer with a huge chocolate cake for dessert.  There had been presents to open, but YN had held back, not wanting to give him her gift in front of everyone.  She was a little embarrassed that she'd bought him anything at all, especially since she'd purchased it well before Steve had brought up the idea for a surprise party.

Bucky and his friends all had to work the next day, and it was also Daylight Saving Time, which meant they would have to get up an hour earlier, so the party broke up fairly early.  YN and Bucky showed everyone out, thanking them again for coming over.

As Bucky locked the door, she turned out all of the lights in the kitchen and living room and the two of them headed up the stairs together.  When they got to Bucky's floor, he turned to her and started to say something.

"Hold that thought," she interrupted as she hurried up the stairs to her room to retrieve his gift.

He'd followed her to the bottom of the stairs, patiently waiting for her to come back down.  Her heart began to pound as she slowly walked back down toward him.  He gave her a puzzled look as she held out the thin rectangular package.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the gift from her.

"It's your birthday present," she told him as she starting wringing her hands nervously.

"YN, you didn't have to get me anything," he said, carefully tearing the paper.

"I know, but I wanted to."

He finished opening the package, and YN began to get worried when he didn't say anything.  He pulled the watch from it's package to get a better look at it.  The watch itself was made from a dark mahogany wood and the band was a buttery soft black leather with red stitching.  He turned it over in his hands and when he saw the Fireman's Maltese Cross with his last name engraved on the back, he looked up at her in surprise.

"This is beautiful, YN.  I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, I just hope you like it."

He took off his current watch and fastened the new one onto his wrist.  "I love it."

He admired the new watch on his wrist for a few more seconds before looking back up at her.  He had a huge smile on his face as he pulled her close to him in a bone crushing hug.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, enjoying the sensation of being in his arms.  She didn't want to let go, and for a moment she contemplated taking his hand and leading him up to her room.  She knew he had to work tomorrow, but that was just an excuse.  The truth was, she was terrified that he'd reject her, and then where would that leave them?

Pulling back, she brushed her lips across his cheek and whispered, "Goodnight, Bucky."

He let her go, and it was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do in his life.  Watching her walk away from him, he felt like he was missing out on the only chance he'd ever have with her.  He'd never been so unsure of himself around a woman before, but he couldn't tell whether this fake relationship had evolved into something more, or if it was all just wishful thinking on his part.  Maybe it was time for him to take a step back.  He stayed at the foot of the stairs until he heard the door click shut before heading back toward his room with a heavy heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 17 of this story!  I’m going to go ahead and apologize for this part! I wrote this whole story back in July, so I’ve pretty much forgotten how this part was supposed to end. Needless to say, the angst in this one is making my heart hurt and I’m the one that wrote it!! How much do you guys want to kill me right now? At least they had that amazing day at the museum and we got another kiss! Did you like the present she got him for his birthday? look forward to your comments!_


	19. Part 18

The weeks following Bucky's birthday were filled with an awkwardness that had YN completely confused. Tony had finally set a new date for when the company was going public and YN had been spending late nights at the office drafting press releases and monitoring the social media accounts. Aldrich Killian at A.I.M. was continuing to be a thorn in her side as he continued to try whatever he could to sabotage Stark Industries' reputation. 

It was rare for YN to be home before ten o'clock on week days and she'd even spent a few weekends working at the office. Her nightly dinners with Bucky had become a thing of the past and she missed them immensely. On the occasional night that she did come home on time, it was to find the brownstone completely empty. She never asked where he'd been, and he never offered to tell her either.

His attitude toward her had also changed and she couldn't decide if it was because of her late nights at work, or something else. He rarely let his phone out of his sight, always keeping it turned away from her when he got a message. She'd never been nosy about who he was texting, so she didn't understand why he was being so secretive all of a sudden.

On top of all the stress at work, she also had Jemma's wedding coming up the next weekend. They'd gotten all the details ironed out, and it seemed as though everything was going to be perfect. The only thing YN had to worry about was Bucky. He'd told her he would go with her since May had conned Jemma into inviting her, but the closer it came to the date, the less convinced YN was that he wanted to go. Finally tired of walking on eggshells around him, she decided to confront him and find out once and for all what was going on.

"Bucky?" she asked the Sunday before the wedding. "Are you sure you want to go to Jemma's wedding with me? If you've changed your mind, then I can come up with an excuse to give May."

He looked up from the French toast she'd made him to give her a confused look. "I told you I'd go with you, doll. You haven't changed your mind have you?"

"No," she quickly assured him, not sure if she should say anything else. She took a minute, staring down at her own plate before steeling her resolve. "Maybe I'm reading too much into this, or maybe it's because I've been working late so much, but things seem different between us lately."

"What do you mean?"

"We never do anything together anymore," she said, suddenly unsure of herself. Once the words had come out of her mouth, she realized how she must sound and she hated herself for it. "You know what, never mind, forget I said anything."

She rose from the barstool and emptied her half-eaten breakfast in the trash before putting her plate in the sink. She was almost to the stairs before he called out to stop her.

"YN, wait."

She paused, too scared to turn around and face him. She could hear the pity in his voice and she knew she couldn't handle seeing it in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I need to get changed and head to Jemma's anyway. We need to finish making wedding favors for the tables."

She didn't wait for him so say anything else, hurrying up the stairs before she humiliated herself any further. 

By the time she'd showered and changed, he'd already left for the day. Grateful that she didn't have to face him again, she locked up and headed to Jemma's, thankful for something to take her mind off the mess that her life had become.

 

Since May and Rhodey weren't coming to the rehearsal dinner, YN had told Bucky that he didn't need to come to Woodbury until the day of the wedding. They hadn't really talked since Sunday and she dreaded having to spend an entire evening pretending that everything was fine. She knew they'd be expected to dance, but she wasn't sure she could handle being that close to him with the giant rift that had developed between them.

The day of the wedding was hectic enough to keep her mind off of Bucky, and for the first time in weeks, she had a genuine smile on her face. Jemma was the perfect bride, calm and cool, but still anxious to get through the ceremony. Daisy was her normal self, cracking jokes and keeping everyone in a lighthearted mood, so it came as a surprise to YN when she cornered her in the bathroom after they'd finished up the bridesmaids photographs.

"What is going on with you?" Daisy demanded as she locked the door and glared at YN. 

"What are you talking about?" YN asked, truly confused.

Daisy took a deep breath and threw her head back before she continued. "I know you seem fine today, but we both know you haven't been fine for weeks. I know Tony's been working you like a dog, but it's more than that. You rarely smile anymore and I'm starting to get worried about you."

YN closed her eyes and tried to think of way to explain herself that didn't make her sound crazy. Finally giving up, she went with the truth. "It's Bucky."

Daisy shook her head and let out a sardonic laugh. "I knew it. What did he do?"

YN was instantly on the defense. "Nothing. It's more me than it is him."

Realization finally dawned on her friend's face. "Are you in love with him? Like seriously in love with him?"

"I don't know," YN said, sitting on the lid of the toilet and burying her face in her hands. "We'd been getting along so well after New Years, hanging out together and watching TV, but then after his birthday, things changed and I don't know what happened. At first I thought it was just me. I've been working crazy hours lately, trying to get ready for Stark Industries' big debut, but now I'm not so sure. He's become secretive, always keeping his phone turned away from me and staying out late on his nights off."

She paused to look up at Daisy and saw the look on her face. "I know what you're thinking, and I swear I'm not imagining this. For weeks he cooked me dinner every night and rubbed my feet while we sat on the couch. Now he barely looks at me, let alone has a conversation with me." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know how I feel about him. I thought for a moment there might be something there between us, but now I'm not so sure."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" Daisy asked as she sat on top of the sink vanity.

"I tried, but I just sounded like a nagging girlfriend, so I dropped it," she admitted. "Maybe he just got caught up in the act, but now that the novelty has worn off, he's bored with the idea of pretending to date me."

"First of all," Daisy said as she hopped down from the sink, "you have every right to know why things have changed between you two. You may not have actually been dating, but it was clear to all of us that the two of you had become friends, and friends don't treat each other that way. Secondly, if he can't see what an amazing woman you are, then he doesn't deserve you."

YN stood and wrapped her arms around Daisy. "You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that. I kept trying to tell myself that I wasn't crazy, but hearing you say the same things I've been telling myself for weeks just proves it."

"You know I'll always have your back, sweetie. Now come on, Jemma is going to be wondering what we're doing in here."

The two of them left the bathroom and made their way back to the dressing room. They heard a man's laugh, and for a second YN thought it was Jemma's father, but when she got close enough, she recognized it immediately. 

She gave Daisy a worried look before opening the door and coming face to face with Bucky. He was dressed in a dove grey suit with a crisp white dress shirt and a pale blue tie that brought out the color of his eyes. Those eyes were now focused on her and the look he gave her took her breath away.

"Hey doll," he said as he walked across the room to greet her. "You look beautiful."

YN looked at Daisy, but her friend just shrugged her shoulders as if to say she couldn't help her now. Turning back to Bucky, she tried to smile, but she was still too upset from the conversation she'd just had with Daisy.

"You look nice, too," she said, settling for idle small talk to get her through the next few minutes. "What are you doing back here?"

"I figured I should get here early so May would think I've been here the whole time," he began to explain as the smile dropped from his face. "Then a little mishap occurred at the registration desk, so I figured I should come find you to let you know what was going on."

"Oh no, what happened?" Jemma asked, suddenly distressed that things weren't running as smoothly as she'd originally thought.

"It's not that big of a deal, Jemma," Bucky assured her. "Apparently May had called and requested two rooms – one for her and Rhodey and one for Peter – but all of the rooms you'd blocked off had already been reserved. The hotel called your mom and when she saw the list of room assignments, she thought there had been a mistake and had them put me and YN in the same room."

YN felt like the room was closing in on her. She'd been prepared to spend the entire night pretending to be Bucky's girlfriend, but she wasn't prepared to share a room with him. Sure, they'd slept in the same bed when he'd been injured back in February, but that was before he'd become so distant. 

"I'm so sorry, guys," Jemma said. "If I'd known, I would have tried to do something about it."

"It's not your fault, Jemma," YN assured her friend, not wanting her to be stressed out on her wedding day. "Bucky and I live together, one night in a hotel room together isn't going to kill us."

"That's what you think," Daisy mumbled under her breath so that only YN could hear her.

YN shot Daisy a glare before turning back to Bucky. "Thanks for telling me. Did they give you a room key?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I've already put my things in the room, but I wanted you to know just in case you needed to go up there before the wedding." He took a deep breath and looked at YN with a strange expression before turning to Jemma. "You look beautiful Jemma. Leo's a lucky man."

"Thank you, Bucky," Jemma said, blushing a bit as he turned that dazzling smile on her.

Bucky gave them all a final wave before heading toward the door.

"Are you seriously okay with this?" Daisy asked YN.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Jemma asked, looking from Daisy to YN. "Wait. Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

YN silently pleaded with Daisy not to say anything, but Daisy wasn't having any of it. "YN thinks she may be in love with Bucky, but he might not be in love with her. He's been avoiding her for weeks and keeping secrets from her."

Jemma was shocked, her mouth hanging open as she looked back at YN, her shock instantly fading away into concern. "Oh, sweetie. I can't even imagine how hard this must be for you, and now this mixup with the rooms."

"I'm fine, Jemma," YN reassured her friend. "I'm sure I can survive one night. Right now we need to be worried about you. Your parents should be back down in a few minutes and then it'll be time for you to get married."

YN put a smile on her face and hoped it was convincing enough to fool her friends. It probably wasn't, but there were bigger things to worry about today, and YN knew that, ultimately, she was on her own when it came to dealing with her feelings about Bucky. Deciding that this mixup with the rooms was a blessing in disguise, she vowed to clear the air with Bucky one way or other tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 18 of this story! So, what do you think Bucky is hiding from her?  What about the mix-up with the rooms at the hotel?  What do you think is going to happen after the wedding tonight? I look forward to your comments!_


	20. Part 19

YN wasn't sure how she made it through the entire wedding. Her mind had been on Bucky since he'd left the dressing room and it didn't help that her gaze kept flitting back to him all during the ceremony. He'd been sitting with Rhodey, May, and Peter about halfway back, but her eyes zeroed in on him the second she'd scanned the crowd.

She'd hoped she could get her mind off of him while they were taking pictures, but it wasn't any use. He'd turned that heart-stopping smile on her as she'd walked down the aisle after the ceremony and she was right back where she started – tongue-tied and a little weak in the knees. That niggling thought in the back of her mind was itching to come forward, but she pushed it down again and tried to focus on her duties as maid of honor.

By the time the bridal party had made it to the reception, she was a giant ball of nerves. Bucky had been waiting on her at the table, casually leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek as she sat beside him. She kept telling herself that he was just putting on a show for May and the rest of the wedding guests that thought they were a couple, but with every brush of his fingers along her bare skin, she fell under his spell a little more.

Giving up any hope of keeping her heart protected, she let herself enjoy his attentions as he held her close on the dance floor. It might all be a ruse, but at least for tonight, she was going to pretend it was real. She was pretty sure she'd end up with a broken heart by the end of the night, so she at least wanted a few more good memories to see her through the dark days she anticipated in her future.

She'd promised herself she wouldn't get drunk – she needed a clear head for the confrontation she planned to have with Bucky once the reception was over – but she figured a few glasses of champagne couldn't hurt. Grabbing another glass from a passing waiter, she caught Bucky giving her a questioning look.

"I've never seen you drink this much, doll. Is something wrong?"

She gave him a smile as she silently laughed to herself. If only he knew. 

"I'm fine, Bucky," she told him as she took a sip of the bubbly wine. "I'm just enjoying myself."

He seemed ready to say something else, but was interrupted by the band leader announcing that the bride and groom were getting ready to depart. YN grabbed his hand and led him over to where Jemma and Leo were saying their farewells. 

"Are you sure you're going to be alright tonight?" Jemma whispered in her ear as YN gave her one last hug.

"I'll be fine," she assured her friend. "Please don't waste anymore of your time worrying about me. This is your wedding day, you should be focused on Leo right now."

Jemma gave her a smile and squeezed her one last time before she moved on the other wedding guests waiting in line to bid her a good night.

YN waited for Bucky to finish speaking to Leo, suddenly nervous about what would happen next. The reception was starting to die down and she knew it would only be a matter of time before they headed back to their room.

Once Jemma and Leo had left, the band leader announced one final song for all the remaining couples. Without asking, Bucky pulled YN into his arms and began to sway to the music. Happy to be back in his embrace again, her arms wound around his neck as they stared into one another's eyes. The thought that she'd been ignoring for months finally came to the surface of her alcohol-clouded mind. Staring into his eyes, she finally realized that it wasn't the brownstone that felt like home – it was him. When she looked into his eyes, really looked, she saw her entire future laid out before her. She tried to ignore it, and had done a pretty decent job, but with the romantic atmosphere of Jemma's wedding, she couldn't deny her feelings any longer. With no care for the consequences, YN slid one hand into his hair and pulled his lips down to hers.

May and Rhodey had already left, so there was no reason for her to kiss him other than the fact that she wanted to. They were lost in a sea of other couples, with no one to interrupt them, so YN poured every ounce of her heart and soul into that kiss. 

Bucky offered no voice of protest as he let YN take control. He'd been shocked when he'd felt her lips against his, but he was soon too lost in the kiss to wonder why she'd done it. Her tongue swept across his lips, silently asking for permission, and he willingly granted her access. 

The kiss during during the Super Bowl had been too quick, and the one from New Years had been interrupted too soon, but with no one to stop them, this kiss took on a life of its own. Within seconds, Bucky was drunk from the taste of her, a hint of sweet champagne mixed with the flavors that were uniquely her. Without realizing it, they'd stopped dancing as his hand slid up her back to rest at the nape of her neck.

The fading music followed by a round of applause for the band finally drew them away from one another, but only by a fraction of an inch. They were both out of breath, chests heaving, and YN could feel the pounding of Bucky's heart in rhythm with her own. Their gazes stayed locked on one another's, both of them wide-eyed with passion.

Without a word, Bucky took her hand and led her from the reception hall back to the hotel. Neither one of them spoke a single word as they walked through the empty halls, terrified of breaking the spell. Even now and then Bucky would glance back at her, his eyes alight with desire, and she couldn't help but smile as she thought about what it would finally feel like to have Bucky in her arms for real.

He slipped the key card into the reader and pulled the door open, ushering her inside. Following close behind her, he grabbed her hips and pushed her back against the closed door, his hands flat against the smooth surface on either side of her face. 

He was close enough to her that she could feel the brush of his suit coat against her chest, and the feel of his warm breath on her cheek, but there wasn't a single part of him actually touching her. Not sure what game he was playing, she flattened her palms against the door and waited to see what he would do next.

The room was dark, neither one of them thinking to leave a light turned on earlier in the day, so she could barely make out his expression in the inky blackness that surrounded them. As her eyes adjusted, she could see the naked desire in his eyes and silently begged him to do something, anything, to help alleviate the dull ache that was spreading throughout her body.

He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers as he moved a step closer, his entire body now flush against hers. His hands were still flat against the door as his lips became more demanding. As his tongue swept past her lips to tangle with hers, she gave in to temptation and ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders, finally coming to rest along his jaw as she angled her head to deepen the kiss.

She felt his hands brush over her shoulders, left bare from the strapless dress, down the sides of her torso before settling on her hips. His fingers dug into her flesh and she let out a moan of pleasure as he lifted her into his arms and began to carry her toward the bed.

He set her down beside the bed, his hands sliding up her back to find the zipper. As he slowly unzipped the dress, she began to unknot the tie around his neck and pop the buttons on his shirt.

He took a step back, letting her dress fall to the floor in a puddle around her feet. Slipping off her heels, she stepped out of the dress and closer to him as her hands reached up and under the shoulders of his suit coat, and began to push it down his arms.

He stood motionless, his gaze raking over her body, as she rid him of his shirt as well. She'd seen his bare chest many times in the past four months, but now she was finally free to let her hands explore the hard planes of muscle. Her fingers were light as they roamed down his torso, her nails gently scraping over his abs.

When she began to undo the belt at his waist, he grabbed her hands. She looked up, scared that she'd gone too far, but when she saw the look in his eyes, she realized just how close to the edge he was. 

As he began to unzip his pants, she finished removing what was left of her clothes, their eyes locked on one another as they drew the moment out, teasing each other until they could finally take no more. He bent down and dug his wallet out of one of the pockets in his pants, and pulled out a small foil packet.

He came back to her, his lips capturing hers in a fiery kiss that began to cloud her senses. With nothing left between them, their desire threatened to overtake them, but she was in no hurry for this night to be over. She broke away from him, plucking the packet from between his fingers as she sat on the edge of the bed.

As she slid across the silky sheets, he followed close behind her, his body hovering over hers as his lips grazed hers for the briefest of moments before moving to her jaw and then down her neck. As he kissed and nipped at her sensitive flesh, she ran her hands along the broad expanse of his back, her fingers gliding over the dips and rises of his taut muscles.

When his mouth finally found hers again, she was already close to the edge. Being with Bucky was everything she'd ever dreamt it would be. He was patient and generous in his lovemaking, paying careful attention to what brought her the most pleasure, seemingly finding his own in making her writhe and moan under his skilled hands and mouth.

 

As she lay in his arms afterward, her head resting on his chest as his fingers lazily slid up and down her back, she wondered if what had transpired tonight would mean in the morning. She tried to push the thoughts away, not wanting her worries and doubts to ruin one of the best nights of her life, but she couldn't silence them.

She thought about how distant he'd been the past few weeks and wondered if tonight had been a mistake, or if this was exactly what they needed to make them finally admit that their feelings toward one another were real. A part of her wanted to go ahead and clear the air tonight, but she was reluctant to break the spell they were under.

His hand began to still as she felt his breathing start to even out. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep. She carefully untangled herself from his arms and headed to the bathroom. 

The woman staring back at her in the mirror was one that she didn't recognize. This woman had a smile on her face and glow about her that only came from being well-satisfied. The longer she stared at her reflection, the more she thought she could get used to this new look.

Once she'd finished cleaning up, she tiptoed back into the room, stopping briefly to grab his dress shirt. Fastening a few of the buttons, she crawled back into bed, Bucky's arms reaching out for her in his sleep. It didn't take her long to fall asleep as well, content now that she was finally where she'd longed to be for so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 19 of this story! And the slow burn has finally come to a fiery end!  What did you think of their night together?  Was the four month wait to get to this part worth it?  What do you think will happen next?  I look forward to your comments!_


	21. Part 20

She was pleasantly reliving the events of the previous night in her dreams when an unfamiliar alarm abruptly brought her back to reality. She felt, more than heard, Bucky's groan of frustration as he rolled away from her to turn it off.

She peeked through her eyelashes to watch him walk toward the bathroom. He made it to the door and stopped, obviously trying to make a decision. With a glance over his shoulder, he met her eyes in a fiery gaze.

"I know you're awake, doll," he said in a whisper. "You can either go back to sleep, or come join me."

It took her all of a second to make her choice. Throwing off the covers, she hurried across the room. She paused at the door for a moment, her hand hesitating over the door knob. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the bathroom. Bucky gave her a wicked grin as he slipped behind the curtain. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt and let it fall to the floor as she followed behind him.

 

They spent longer in the shower than they should have, and Bucky was rushed as he threw his belongings in his suitcase to head back to Brooklyn for his shift. He was almost out of the door before he dropped his bag and turned back to her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her one last time.

"I'll text you later today," he told her as he reluctantly pulled away and headed back to the door.

 

YN ended up going back to sleep for a few more hours since she didn't have to be down to brunch until nine o'clock that morning. Jemma and Leo had decided not to leave for their honeymoon right after the wedding, so they rented out one of the smaller banquet rooms so all of the overnight guests could sleep in a bit before heading back home.

Checkout time wasn't until 11:30am, so YN decided not to pack before brunch. She wasn't in a hurry to get back to the city since Bucky was working all day. Now that the wedding was over and Stark Industries was going public on Friday, she had nothing to do today.

As she walked into the banquet room, Daisy zeroed in on her.

"Did you talk to him last night?" her friend asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Not exactly," YN said, a somewhat guilty look on her face.

"What do you mean?" Daisy looked confused for a moment, but then realization dawned on her. "Oh."

"Yeah," YN said with a wink. "I said that a lot last night myself."

Daisy's eyes grew wide and she struggled to contain her laughter. "You little minx. I can't believe you slept with him. How was it? Never mind, I can tell from the goofy grin on your face that it was fantastic. I still want all the details, though."

"Daisy Johnson," YN chided. "I don't kiss and tell, but I will say that it was just as good in the shower this morning as it was last night."

Daisy slapped YN's arm as she bit her lip to keep from squealing out loud. "Did you tell him that you're in love him?"

YN squirmed a bit, shifting from one foot to the other. "No, but don't freak out on me. I didn't want to tell him last night and have him think it was just something I said in the heat of the moment. I'm planning to leave work a little early tomorrow, if Tony will let me, and cook him dinner. I'll tell him then."

"I heard my name," Tony said in a stage whisper as he sidled up next to YN and Daisy. "Are you two talking about how devastatingly handsome I look this morning? I do, you know. It's a both a blessing and curse."

"No, Tony," YN said, shaking her head in amusement. "I was just telling Daisy that I was going to ask to leave early tomorrow. I have something I need to take care of at home."

"Does it have anything to do with this new glow you're sporting this morning?" Tony asked, waving his hand in a circle in front of YN's face. "I can harbor a guess as to why Jemma has that glow, and I know for a fact why Pepper does, but I'm curious about you, my dear. Have you and the fake boyfriend finally decided to make it official?"

YN quickly glanced around the room, hoping neither May nor Peter were anywhere around to overhear Tony's remark. Letting out a relieved breath, she turned back to Tony.

"If you must know, then yes, we're. . ." YN paused, not sure exactly how to describe her relationship with Bucky. "Well, to be honest, that's why I want to leave early tomorrow. He had to drive back to Brooklyn this morning for his shift at the fire house, so we didn't get a chance to talk."

Tony gave her a worried look. "I see."

"Tony," Daisy said with a hard glare. "I can remember when you and Pepper were in the same position. If I recall correctly, she used to be your personal assistant before she became the CEO of Stark Industries, and somewhere in the middle of all that the two of you were tearing up the sheets on the sly."

"Touché," he said with a huff before turning back to YN. "I just want it on the record that I'm not a fan of this guy. He's not good enough for you, sweetie."

YN laid her hand on Tony's arm. "No one is ever going to be good enough for me in your eyes. If you didn't love Leo as much as you loved Jemma, you would have tried to throw a wrench in that relationship as well."

Tony thought about it for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. "You're not wrong."

"Well, now that that's settled, I'm starving."

YN started toward the buffet line, but Tony reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast," he said. "I wasn't coming over here just to talk about your sex life, although it does put a damper on my plans."

"I'm sorry," Daisy said with a confused look on her face. "What are you even talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I've noticed all of the long hours you've been putting in these past few weeks," he said to YN. "You've been spending as much time at the office as I normally do, plus helping Jemma plan this wedding. I know how stressed you've been lately and I wanted to do something to help you relax."

YN gave him a questioning look. "What did you have in mind, Tony?"

"Obviously not the same type of relaxation techniques Barnes employed last night," he said with a smirk. "I just scheduled a spa day for you, paid for another night in your room, and I'm giving you the day off tomorrow."

YN's face broke out into a huge smile as she wrapped her arms around Tony and let out a small squeal. He gave her a halfhearted pat on the back, but she could tell from the gleam in his eye, he was happy that she was excited about his gift.

"Thank you so much, Tony. That was so sweet of you to do."

Tony waved away her thanks and handed her the booking confirmation before heading back to Pepper. YN and Daisy poured through all of the sessions Tony had booked for her after they'd filled their plates and taken a seat at the table. Lincoln had joined them once they sat down, but he was busy talking to Leo's friend Mack and paid them no attention.

YN gave Jemma and Leo one final hug goodbye before she went back up to her room to change before her first appointment. As she walked down the hall, she shot off a quick text to Bucky to let him know that she would be staying an extra day in Woodbury, and that Tony had given her the day off so she would see him sometime tomorrow afternoon. She turned off the ringer and slipped her phone into her bag as she walked through the doors of the spa, ready to spend the rest of the day being pampered.

 

She had been surprised and a little disappointed when she didn't hear from Bucky all day. Chalking it up to a busy day at work, she crawled into bed. Grabbing the pillow Bucky had used last night, she buried her face into it and took a deep breath. With a smile on her face, she fell asleep remembering the events of the previous night and hoping for a repeat tomorrow.

 

YN awoke the next morning feeling more relaxed than she had in months. She rolled over and checked the clock, surprised to see that it was so early. She thought about trying to get a few more hours of sleep, but then realized that if she left the hotel within the next thirty minutes, she would get home about the same time as Bucky.

With a smile, she hopped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower. The more she thought about spending the morning in bed with Bucky, the more anxious she was to get on the road. As she rushed around the room checking all of the drawers and under the furniture for anything she might have forgotten, she saw a phone laying facedown under the bed. She reached for it and immediately recognized it as Bucky's. With a smile, she realized that it must have fallen under the bed yesterday morning in his rush to get to work. She tried turning it on, but it was completely dead. No wonder he hadn't texted her.

Traffic was light that early in the morning, and she was making good time back into Brooklyn. She kept glancing down at the clock, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she thought about how he would react when he saw her. She'd plugged Bucky's phone into her car charger and it had dinged a few times with incoming calls and texts once it had turned back on. Not wanting to chance taking her eyes off the road, she didn't look at the screen, but she imagined that it was Bucky sending her texts. If he was anything like her, he had no idea what anyone's number was unless it was saved into his phone, and he was probably using Steve's phone to leave her messages on his.

All hopes of making it home in time to be in his bed waiting for him were dashed when she saw the line of traffic backed up at the junction between Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway. Coming to a full stop, she banged her head against the steering wheel and tried to put a positive spin on the situation. Instead of being there waiting on him, she could now crawl into bed with him, which might prove more fun that her original plan. With nothing else to do, she grabbed Bucky's phone to see if her theory had been right.

When she glanced at the screen, she saw text after text and over a dozen missed calls from Dot. The texts all read the same way – "Where are you? Why aren't you texting me back? I miss you. I love you, Bucky." YN's heart plummeted as she finally realized why Bucky had been so secretive the past few weeks, and where he'd most likely been. Of course a guy like him wouldn't stay single for long, and it wasn't like he could tell her about his new girlfriend – not with May living right next door and watching their every move. 

By the time traffic cleared up and she pulled up to the curb in front of their brownstone, YN was an emotional wreck. She'd held back the tears, telling herself that she wasn't going to cry over a guy that would sleep with her and someone else at the same time. Tony was right – Bucky didn't deserve her. 

She sat in her car for a few minutes, debating on whether she wanted to go inside and face him or not. Realizing that it would only be harder the longer she waited, she pulled herself together and began walking up the steps to the front door. She'd left her bag in the car since she had no plans to stick around. She'd text Daisy once she left and let her know she'd be crashing with her and Lincoln until she could find another place to live.

YN walked into the foyer and listened for a second to see if Bucky was still awake or not. She heard footsteps on the floor above her, so she straightened her spine and began walking up to his room. 

She'd made it about halfway up before the sight of a leggy redhead wearing nothing but Bucky's favorite red Henley stopped her in her tracks. They both stood frozen for a few seconds, each one just as surprised to see the other.

Taking in her half-dressed appearance, the sight of her still-wet hair, and the smell of Bucky's body wash, YN deduced that she and Bucky had just been doing exactly what YN had planned to do with him this morning.

"You must be Dot," YN said, her voice coming out in a defeated sigh.

The redhead gave YN a smug little grin as she leaned against the wall and stared down at her. "I'd wondered if you knew about me. Bucky'd told me you didn't, but I knew you were smarter than he gave you credit for. I'm actually glad you know. Now we can all finally stop pretending."

YN reached into her bag and pulled out Bucky's phone. "He left this at the hotel the other night."

Dot reached out to grab the phone from YN, and that's when she saw it – a huge diamond ring on Dot's left hand. YN looked up in surprise and immediately knew from the look on Dot's face that she'd wanted her to notice it.

"He didn't tell you we were engaged, did he?" she asked, almost purring in excitement at YN's distress. "He actually proposed last year, but then we hit a rough patch – that's when you came along. We had a long talk a few weeks ago and he told me that after meeting you – living with you for all of these months – that he finally realized that it was me he truly loved."

Hating herself for letting Bucky fool her into thinking that he actually cared about her, YN turned and started back down the stairs. Her pride got the better of her, and she stopped in the foyer and looked back up at Dot.

"Just so you know, he slept with me this weekend."

YN was pleased to see the smug look falter for a bit before Dot glared down at her. "Consider it a parting gift."

 

YN's hands were shaking as she slid behind the wheel of her car. Determined to hold it together until she was alone, she quickly texted Daisy to let her know that she was heading to her apartment and that she would explain everything later.

She drove through the streets of Brooklyn on autopilot, only vaguely aware of stop signs and traffic lights. By the time she used her spare key to open Daisy's door, she was barely able to put one foot in front of the other. She'd kept going over it while she drove, and she just couldn't understand why Bucky just hadn't told her he'd gotten back together with his ex-fiancée. Not telling her about some random girl he was dating was one thing, but not telling her about the woman he planned to marry was a different story altogether. A few days ago, she would have been disappointed, but after the night they'd spent together, she was absolutely devastated.

Collapsing on the couch, she finally let the dam break, tears streaming down her cheeks as sobs racked her entire body. She wasn't aware of how long she cried, but eventually the tears dried up and she fell into a fitful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 20 of this story! I hope you enjoyed our brief stop last week in Sexy Town, because we are now back on the Angst Train to Hell!  I'm curious as to what your theories are concerning Dot. . .please feel free to rant and rave at me all you want! I look forward to your comments!_


	22. Part 21

Bucky'd had a long shift starting from the second he'd walked in the door. He'd been running a bit late, but he didn't regret a single second spent with YN in the shower that morning. Steve had just been about to chastise him for his tardiness when a call came in. They'd battled the apartment fire for the better part of the morning, the windy conditions continually feeding the fire, but they'd eventually subdued it while simultaneously managing to save all of the occupants.

By the time Bucky realized that he'd misplaced his phone, it was too late to reach YN at the hotel. He tried to remember what her number was, but since it was saved into his phone, he hadn't bothered to memorize it. He felt bad about not calling or texting her, but he was sure that she'd found his phone and realized why. Then he remembered Dot, and a part of him prayed that she wouldn't find the phone.

A late call came in, so Bucky was delayed heading home, but he hoped that he could catch YN before she headed to work. He wanted to explain the situation with Dot, but he wasn't sure she would even be willing to talk to him this morning if she had found his phone and the messages he was sure to have received. 

He walked into the brownstone and heard her in the kitchen. Offering a prayer of thanks that she was still home, he called out for her.

"YN, did you happen to find my phone. . .?"

He froze as he realized that it wasn't YN, but Dot, in the kitchen. She looked to be fresh out of the shower, and she was wearing one of his shirts.

"Hey, sweetie," Dot crooned coming up to give him a kiss on the cheek before gesturing to the island. "Your phone's right here."

He pushed her away, his hands gripping her arms tightly as he gave her a hard glare. "How did you get in here, and where's YN?"

"Is that anyway to talk to your fiancée?" she asked, her lips forming a pout.

"Dot, I swear. . ."

"Your little girlfriend isn't here," she spat at him, her eyes turning hard. "She dropped by, but once I explained the situation to her, she left."

"What do you mean, you explained the situation?" Bucky asked, his voice growing cold as his grip on her arms tightened.

"Ow, Bucky," she whined. "You're hurting me."

Bucky immediately let go, his anger fading a bit as he tried to calm down. "You didn't answer me. How did you get in here and what did you say to YN?"

"You always leave a spare key hidden under the bumper of your truck," she explained as she began rubbing her arms where his fingers had dug into them. "I stopped by the station this morning, but you were all gone, so I helped myself to it."

The light from over the stove glinted off the diamond ring on her left hand, and his anger came back in full force as he realized what she'd done. "Did you tell YN we were engaged?"

She jumped at bit at his tone, but she stood her ground. "Of course I did. Your little whore needed to know that you belong to me."

Bucky ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he tried not to lose his temper. "Dammit Dot, we've been over this. You and I aren't together anymore. If you could be bothered to actually remember, you were the one that broke up with me."

"And then I realized my mistake," she yelled back at him. "We made promises to each other, Bucky, and I've apologized a thousand times. I was stupid to let you go, but you need realize that we belong together. I can forgive you for your little dalliance with her, but it has to end."

"I don't know what's wrong with you, I really don't. I've been trying to figure out if you were always this crazy, or if it's just started since we broke up. Either way, the fact remains that I don't want to be with you."

"You don't know what you're saying Bucky," Dot said, tears beginning to stream down her face as she held up the hand with the engagement ring. "You told me you'd love me forever. You asked me to marry you. How can you stand there and tell me that I mean nothing to you now?"

"How can I. . .?" Bucky was really starting to lose his temper. "You left me, Dot. You left me when I needed you the most. I had a broken leg and five bruised ribs, and I could barely make it to the bathroom by myself. Most fiancées would have stuck around to take care of the man they claimed to love, but, oh no, not you. You said that my job was too dangerous and you couldn't handle spending another night wondering if I would ever come home again. Do you remember that? Is any of this ringing a bell for you?"

Dot was glaring at him, her own anger building up inside of her. "You're going to keep throwing that in my face forever, aren't you? I screwed up, and I've said I was sorry. . ."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, sweetheart," he snapped at her. "I need someone I can depend on, someone that's going to stick by me when things get tough. . ."

"And that whore you're shacking up with now is prepared to do that?"

Bucky slammed his fist down on the island, making her jump. "That's the second time you've used that detestable word to describe YN, and I'm warning you now, I don't want to hear you call her that again. But to answer your question, yes, she is prepared to deal with my job, and I know I can depend on her to stay by my side through thick and thin."

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

He could hear the desperation in Dot's voice, but he just didn't care anymore. He shook his head, increasingly frustrated with the conversation. "Not that it's any of your business, but if it finally gets you to understand that we're over, then yes, I'm in love with her. She and I have a chance at something great, but I can't move forward with that until you finally stop acting like a psychopath and leave me alone."

"A psychopath?" she asked, an edge to her voice that had the hairs on Bucky's arms standing up. "I'll show you a psychopath."

Before he could stop her, Dot had grabbed a knife from the countertop behind her and came at Bucky. He jumped back before the knife could slice him open, but he wasn't quick enough to miss its arc entirely. His fingers touched the thin line of blood seeping from the shallow cut across his abdomen before he looked back up to see her coming at him again.

He grabbed her hand as she prepared to plunge the knife into his chest. 

"I'd rather see you dead than with her," she said with an eerily calm voice as she fought against him.

He brought both hands up to push the knife away from his chest, twisting her hand until she finally dropped it with a cry of pain. He turned her around, one hand circling her wrists as he reached for his phone with the other. As he dialed 911, she began to cry again. Collapsing to her knees, he was forced to let her go as she began hugging herself, rocking back and forth on the kitchen floor.

He kept one eye on her as he went to open the door for the police. He'd never suspected that she wasn't right mentally while they were together, but once she'd started texting, calling, and showing up at the firehouse unannounced a few weeks ago, he knew something was off with her and it would only be a matter of time before she broke. She'd been enraged to learn he was living with YN, but he couldn't tell her the truth for fear of her ratting them out to May. He'd tried to be nice about it, meeting her for dinner to explain that he'd moved on, but she had been insistent that he give her another chance.

After this weekend with YN, he'd finally admitted to himself that he was in love with her, but he knew he needed to deal with Dot before he told her. He was beside himself thinking about YN meeting Dot the way she had this morning, and he couldn't begin to imagine what she must think of him. He wanted nothing more than to just leave Dot with the authorities and find YN to explain, but he knew that wasn't an option.

He spent the rest of the morning at the police station filling out forms to officially charge Dot with stalking, breaking and entering, and assault with a deadly weapon. He hated to do that to her, but he knew if he didn't, she would never receive the help she needed.

The police had asked him to keep his phone turned off while he was in the station, so once he'd been cleared to leave he immediately texted YN. He had no idea what was going through her mind right now, but he knew he needed to talk to her. He debated going to Stark Industries to see her, but he decided against it. It was already past noon, so he decided to wait until she got home that night.

 

Bucky sat up until midnight waiting for YN to come home. He'd texted and called all evening, but she'd turned her phone off and he had no idea where she was. He figured, with Jemma and Leo off on their honeymoon, she was with Daisy, but he didn't know where she and Lincoln lived. He hated the thought of her thinking the worst of him, but until he could actually talk to her, he knew there was nothing he could do to fix the situation. Finally giving in to exhaustion, he fell asleep on the couch in the living room, just in case she decided to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 21 of this story! And now that we've gotten Bucky's side of the story, what do you think about Dot? Do you blame Bucky for trying to shield the Reader from her?  How do you think the Reader is going to react once she learns the truth, or do you think she'll even give him a chance to explain? I look forward to your comments!_


	23. Part 22

Daisy had found YN curled up on the couch, her eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying. Daisy was furious that her friend was in so much pain, and she knew that Bucky was somehow to blame.

"What happened, sweetie?" Daisy asked as she pulled YN into her arms and began to rub her back.

YN began crying again, soft hiccuping sobs that made it hard for her to talk. "He has a fiancée."

Daisy pulled away to look YN in the eye, her own wide in disbelief. "I'm sorry, what? How? When?"

YN grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table beside her and blew her nose before she continued. "Apparently they broke up sometime last year before I met him, but they recently got back together. I mean, I get why he didn't want to tell me. We made up that whole lie about dating to trick May into renting us the brownstone, but I still deserved to know. He had no right to keep the fact that he was marrying another woman from me before I slept with him this weekend. I just can't believe he would do that to me, or to her."

Daisy seemed just as confused as YN. "I know I don't know him that well, but I'm also finding it hard to believe that he would do something like that."

"I was so humiliated this morning when I met her," YN began.

"Wait a second," Daisy interrupted. "You met her? The fiancée? Where?"

YN buried her face in her hands, the memory of her encounter with Dot still making her chest ache. "I left the hotel early this morning, hoping to catch Bucky once he'd gotten home from his shift. I was such a fool, Daisy. I had all of these plans. I'd spent the entire time at the spa thinking about how things were going to be now that I'd convinced myself that we were going to be together."

"Oh, honey," Daisy said, holding YN's hand as her friend took a deep breath, willing herself to keep going.

"I got caught in a bit of traffic, so I was running later than I'd anticipated. I heard someone on Bucky's floor and I assumed it was him, but when I started up the stairs she came out of the bathroom. She'd obviously just gotten out of the shower – her hair was still wet and I could smell Bucky's body wash on her. She was also wearing nothing but one of his shirts."

"Where was he?"

"His door was shut, and I never saw him. I'm guessing he was asleep at that point. It doesn't matter, though. She told me she knew about us, but now that they were back together I was basically getting thrown out." YN looked up at the ceiling, trying not to let her emotions take over completely. "It was horrible, Daisy. I know I'm upset and angry, but that woman was so smug and haughty, and I just didn't like her."

"Ok, I'm a little confused here," Daisy said, her brow furrowing. "I get that he has this whole secret life you knew nothing about, but why would he invite her to your place when he knew you would be home sometime that morning. That just seems stupid on his part."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that part," YN said, pressing the heel of her hand against her forehead in frustration. "Bucky was in a hurry to leave Woodbury yesterday morning and his phone must have fallen under the bed. I'd texted him about Tony's surprise, but obviously he never got that text. By the time I found it this morning, got it charged, and had a chance to see his missed notifications, it was full of messages from her. I knew before I walked in to the brownstone that there was another woman, but I had no idea they were engaged, or that she would be there."

"Wow," Daisy said, at a loss for words.

"I know. I still can't believe it all happened." YN shot her friend a chagrined look. "I may have also let it slip that Bucky and I slept together this weekend."

Daisy's eyes lit up in delight. "You didn't? That's exactly what he deserves for treating you the way he did. I hope she tosses that ring back in his face and he ends up alone."

YN smiled for a second before the reality of the situation came crashing down on her again. "What am I going to do, Daisy? Where am I going to live?"

"Don't worry about that right now, sweetie," Daisy said as she wrapped an arm around YN's shoulder. "You know you can stay here for as long as you need. We've got a bed in the spare room that's yours until you figure out where to go next."

"I have to go back to get my stuff," YN whispered. "I just don't know if I can face either of them again."

"Linc and I will go by the day after tomorrow when Bucky's at work and pick up some of your clothes. We'll figure out the rest after this weekend."

"Oh," YN moaned. "I totally forgot about this weekend. We have Tony's party for all of the investors on Saturday. There's still so much to do – I don't have time to think about my personal life."

"It'll all work out, sweetie," Daisy said, doing her best to console her friend. "You've got me and once Jemma gets back, you'll have us both to get you through this."

"I don't know what I would do without you, Daisy."

"Let's hope you never have to find out."

 

Bucky's internal alarm had him up at his normal time, but when he woke up on the couch he was momentarily confused. As he sat up, the pain in his abdomen reminded him of the events of yesterday and he flopped back down on the couch in frustration. He was worried about YN, but he also wanted a chance to talk to her so he explain his side of the story.

Deciding that laying on the couch all day wasn't going to do him any good, he shuffled up the stairs to grab a shower. The police had found Dot's clothes in his bedroom and, thankfully, they had taken them to the station after they'd arrested her, but her presence still lingered in the house. 

He could still smell the perfume she favored, an overly sweet floral scent that he immediately associated with her whenever he happened to catch a whiff of it on someone else. Every time he'd smelled it these past few weeks, his heart had begun to pound in anticipation of one of her random appearances. He'd done his best to keep YN off of Dot's radar, insisting that they meet as far away from the brownstone as possible. What had happened yesterday had been his worst nightmare since she'd popped back up in his life, and looking back on it now, he wished he had come clean with YN and told her truth. 

He'd been trying to spare YN the added stress of dealing with his crazy ex on top of the pressures of work and Jemma's upcoming wedding. Maybe if he'd told YN the truth when he'd gotten that first text, she could have helped him handle the situation with Dot. His relationship with YN had been undefined at that point, and he wasn't sure where he'd stood with her. If he was being honest with himself, he'd have to admit that a part of him wanted to know if he had any feelings left for the woman he'd asked to marry him over a year ago. One dinner out with Dot was all it took for him to know that YN was the woman he truly wanted to be with, but by that point, he'd pushed her away.

As he stood under the scorching spray of the shower, his mind went back to the night he'd spent with her in Woodbury. He'd been surprised when she kissed him at the end of the reception and maybe they'd had a bit too much to drink, but he wasn't going to let a golden opportunity pass him by. Leaving her behind to go to work was pure agony and he would've given anything to have been able to spend the rest of the day in bed with her, learning every curve of her body.

Realizing that he didn't want to spend another minute without her, he turned off the water and quickly dried off. Once he'd grabbed some clothes, he raced downstairs and headed for his truck. He hadn't gone to Stark Industries yesterday because he'd assumed she would at least come home for her clothes, but he wasn't taking any chances today. He had to talk to her, and he didn't care what important meeting he might be interrupting.

Tony's head of security, Happy Hogan, was sitting behind the desk when Bucky came through the doors. Bucky had met him before when he' brought YN dinner one night. Happy was an imposing man, broad chested with a serious look permanently etched on his face, but Bucky had liked him immediately.

"Hey Happy," Bucky said as he walked up to the desk. "Is YN in her office? I need to talk to her for a minute."

"I'm sorry Mr. Barnes," Happy replied, his voice clipped and cold as his eyes shot daggers in Bucky's direction. "You've been denied access to the building and I've been instructed to escort you to the door if you refuse to leave of your own volition."

"Happy," Bucky cajoled. "Come on, man. I just need to talk to her."

Happy came around the side of the desk and grabbed Bucky by the arm and began to pull him toward the door. "You aren't welcome here, Mr. Barnes."

"Fine, but at least call up and let her know I'm here. She can meet me on the sidewalk if she wants, but I'm not leaving until I speak to her."

"That's never going to happen, Barnes," Tony said as he exited the elevator, tugging on the sleeves of his dress shirt. "YN has no desire to speak to you, and if I have anything to say about it, you will never lay eyes on her again."

"Tony," Bucky began. "I don't know what she told you, but I swear it's all a huge misunderstanding."

Tony's nonchalant façade faded in an instant as he confronted Bucky. "I don't care what your side of the story is, and I'm pretty sure YN doesn't either. I never really liked you, and as upset as YN is now, I'm glad she finally saw through your lies. You don't deserve her, and you never will."

Tony backed down and gave a nod to Happy to continue escorting Bucky toward the doors. "Now get out of my building."

"Tony, please," Bucky begged as Happy pulled him toward the doors. "You don't understand. I love her."

Tony paused at the open door of the elevator. "Then you're a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for."

Bucky stood on the sidewalk as Happy glared at him from behind the glass door. He took a step back and looked up toward the window of YN's office, hoping that she might have heard he was here and was standing in the window to catch a glimpse of him. Her blinds were shut and there didn't seem to be any signs of someone peeking out. Knowing Tony, he hadn't told YN that he was here, choosing instead to take care of the issue himself.

Running his hands through his hair in frustration, he went back to his truck. He texted YN again, telling her that he was outside. He waited for almost a half hour, but she either never got his text, or she was choosing to ignore him. With nowhere else to go, he drove to Steve's. Maybe he and Peggy could offer some advice on what he should do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 22 of this story! The Reader is so heartbroken right now!  It's so frustrating to know the whole story and to have to watch her suffer for no reason!  What did you think about Tony's confrontation with Bucky?  I love how protective he is over the Reader, even if he's wrong about Bucky! I look forward to your comments!_


	24. Part 23

Bucky had laid out the whole story to Steve and Peggy, both of them in shock at the way Dot had acted in the end. 

"I never really liked her that much," Steve admitted, "but I knew you loved her, so I kept my mouth shut.  Maybe if I had said something last year. . ."

"Don't do that to yourself, Steve," Bucky interrupted.  "I've been playing the what-if game for the past two days and it does nothing but frustrate you even more.  What's done is done, and now all that's left is to figure out how to move forward."

"You're not giving up on YN, are you?" Peggy asked. 

Bucky hung in head in frustration. "I don't know what to do.  I've tried texting and calling, I even went by the office, but Tony made it very clear that I was not welcome there.  What else can I do?"

Peggy bit her lip, trying to think of something.  "What about flowers?  You could write her a note to put in them."

"Tony will have Happy watching for things like that," Bucky said, his mood growing blacker.

"What about a letter, then?" Steve asked.  "Write it all out and mail it to the office."

Bucky thought about it for a minute.  "I guess I could try that, but I wouldn't put it past Tony to open all of her mail for the next few weeks just in case."

"What is this guy's problem?" Steve asked, starting to get a bit angry.

"You didn't hear him," Bucky said.  "It was plain to see that he's just as upset about all of this as YN is.  If I were in his shoes, I'd probably be doing the exact same thing, so don't blame Tony.  He's just doing what he can to protect her."

"You have to figure out a way to get her to listen to you, Bucky," Peggy said, reaching over to lay a hand on his.  "You two love each other, and if you can just get her to understand what really happened, I know she'll forgive you for being such an idiot."

"Thanks, Peg," Bucky said, sarcasm dripping off of his words.  "Leave it to you to remind me what a colossal screwup I am."

Steve gave Peggy a sideways glance before turning back to Bucky.  "This isn't completely your fault, Bucky.  Dot is the one that lost her mind.  I mean, she actually tried to kill you.  You had no way of knowing that she was that far gone."

"Tell me about it," Bucky said, absentmindedly rubbing the cut along his abdomen.  "I'm just glad that she didn't try to go after YN.  I don't know what I would've done if I'd come home to find YN hurt, or worse. . ."

"There's no sense in thinking like that Bucky," Peggy interrupted.  "You said so yourself – you need to stop imagining what could have happened.  YN is perfectly fine, other than a broken heart, but once you clear things up, the two of you can finally move on from this."

"You're right," Bucky agreed.  "I think I'm going to go ahead on home.  Who knows?  Maybe YN will come back, but if she doesn't, then I'm at least going to try to write the letter.  She may never get it, or she may tear it up the second she realizes it's from me, but I have to do something."

Bucky rose to leave and both Steve and Peggy walked him to the door.  He wasn't in the best of moods, but he had a iota of hope and that was more than he'd had when he'd shown up.  Bidding his friends a goodnight, he headed home to his empty house to face another night without YN.

 

YN had gone through the motions at work on Tuesday, barely able to keep her mind on the task at hand throughout the day.  Thankfully, she'd tied up all of the loose ends for Tony's big day before the wedding, so all she had to do was make sure everything was going according to schedule.  

She hadn't wanted a lot of people at the office to know what was going on in her personal life, but she'd had to tell Tony.  There was no way he wouldn't have figured it out, and it was easier to just get it off her chest first thing than have to worry about when he would confront her about it later.  

He'd taken the news just as she'd anticipated.  He'd ranted and raved, stomping around his office and threatening to kill Bucky.  She'd managed to calm him down, and he'd pulled her into his arms causing the floodgates to open back up.  It took her longer than she cared to admit to pull herself back together, but she eventually dried her eyes and headed back to her office.

Daisy and Lincoln had gone over to the brownstone while Bucky was at work on Wednesday to grab some of her things.  She told herself that after the party on Saturday, she would start looking for a place.  Surely Bucky couldn't object to her leaving her stuff in the brownstone until she had somewhere new to live.  She did worry about the condition of her belongings with that hateful woman living there now – she seemed like the vindictive type that would take a knife to your mattress and couch cushions.

She had seen the notifications on her phone from Bucky, but she deleted them all without reading a single one.  There was absolutely nothing he had to say that she was interested in hearing.  He may have broken her heart, but she would eventually pick up the pieces and move on.  Her career was about to skyrocket and she needed to concentrate on that right now.

 

Daisy had insisted on going shopping Saturday morning to buy her a new dress for the party that night.  The company had gone public the previous morning and by the end of the day the stock prices were soaring.  The prices had dropped significantly Saturday morning and Tony was ecstatic that people had paid so much on the opening day.  If this trend continued, then that would mean a lot more money feeding into the company for Tony to continue his research and development.

YN hadn't wanted to go shopping, but she knew she couldn't spend another day hiding out in Daisy's apartment.  By the time they'd both bought new dresses and shoes, YN was in a much better mood and was actually looking forward to the party.  

 

Tony was in his element – the center of attention and basking in his own glory.  He'd made an emotional speech, thanking each one of his employees personally before he'd popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and they'd all toasted a successful IPO.

YN had forgotten that May and Peter had been invited, but so far, she had been able to avoid them.  She wasn't sure what she was going to tell her landlady, but she knew she would have to think of something eventually.  

Pepper had done an amazing job of keeping May and Peter distracted so that YN could slip away to her office.  She'd brought along a bottle of champagne, figuring she was entitled to take the edge off since she'd worked so hard to make this day a reality for the company.

When Tony came through the doors, she was already a bit tipsy, so she missed the look of distress on his face.

"Hey, Tony," she slurred.  "Did you come to join my pity party?  I hope not 'cause you should be out there celebrating your success, not back here watching me drink away my problems."

Tony took the bottle from her hands just as she was about to tip it back for another drink.  "I think you've had enough."  He gave her a hard look before he set his tablet down in front of her.  "You'll want a clear head when you read this."

"What is this?" YN asked as she looked at the article on the New York Times website.

"Rhodey just sent that to me," Tony explained.  "Thought I might be interested to know the real story."

"I don't understand, Tony.  Who's Delores Canterbury?"

"Just read it, kid."

YN gave him one last puzzled look before she did as he requested.  The article began by describing this Delores person, who was apparently considered a pillar of her community before her alleged break with reality a few days ago.  She was a second grade teacher at a local elementary school and was well-loved by her students and coworkers.  The reporter went on to talk about how Delores had been accused of stalking her ex-fiancé, going so far as to break into his home and, according to police reports, assault her ex-fiancé with a deadly weapon.  When they named her ex-fiancé as Lt. James Barnes, a firefighter in Brooklyn, YN's eyes grew wide and she looked up at Tony in shock.

"Oh, God, Tony," she said.  "Did Rhodey say if Bucky was okay?  I can't believe I just left him there with her. . ."

Tony came around the desk and pulled her into his arms.  "Don't think like that.  You had no idea what was really going on, and I, for one, am glad you left when you did.  If she was willing to try to kill him, I can't imagine what she would have done to you if you'd stuck around.  As for Bucky, I saw him on Tuesday and he's fine – desperate to talk to you, but fine."

She pulled away to look him in the eye.  "He was here?  You never told me he'd come by."

"I didn't want you to ever have to see him again, but now that I know what really happened, I can't be mad at him any longer."

"I have go see him and tell him how sorry I am."

"You're not in any condition to drive right now, sweetie," Tony said as he gently ushered her back into her chair.  "Let me make you some coffee and once you've sobered up a bit, you can go see him."

Tony walked over to the Keurig YN kept at the office and popped in a K-cup of her favorite blend.  Once the coffee had brewed, he fixed it the way she liked and brought the cup to her.  

She barely noticed the steaming cup in front of her as she replayed the scene with Dot over in her mind again.  Thinking back to that day, she tried to remember if she'd seen Bucky's truck parked anywhere on the street.  She was having a hard time remembering, and she just hadn't been paying that much attention.  She was too worried about confronting him when she'd pulled up to the brownstone, and too upset to notice as she left.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tony asked when he noticed her staring off into space, obviously lost in thought.

"I'll be fine, Tony," she told him as she took a sip of the coffee.  "I just need some time alone to think before I go see him."

He gave her shoulder a squeeze as he started toward the door.  Turning back to her at the last second he said, "If you need me, I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Tony."

He shut the door behind him and YN took another sip.  The recent information shed a whole new light on the entire situation.  Now that she knew his ex was a little crazy, it made sense that he'd tried to keep it from her.  She thought back to the look in Dot's eye when she'd told her she'd slept with Bucky and wondered if her words had caused the other woman to go into a jealous rage and try to kill Bucky.  

Grabbing her phone, she decided that she couldn't wait until she was sober enough to drive.  Pulling up her Uber app, she started typing in the address of the firehouse, but she never got the chance to finish.  There was a flash of light as the building began to shake.  Ceiling tiles began to rain down as a loud sound pierced her eardrums, causing her to fall to her knees beside her desk, her hands coming up to cover her ears.

The overhead lights were out, and YN couldn't tell if the emergency lights had come on due to the thick smoke and dust from the falling debris that clouded her vision.  She covered her mouth with her arm as she tried to crawl toward the door.  She'd only made it a few feet before her progress was impeded by a large section of debris.  The smoke was starting to get thicker and she was finding it harder to breathe.  Backtracking to her desk, she tried to find her cell phone to call for help, but before she could locate it, the world around her began to fade away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 23 of this story!  Just when things are starting to look up for Bucky and the Reader, I have to go and throw a wrench in the works! I'm horrible, I know, but there is a method to my madness! Now that the Reader knows the truth, she and Bucky can finally reconcile. . .if she survives that explosion! Who do you think the bomber is?  Any theories as to what will happen next week?  I look forward to your comments!_


	25. Part 24

Bucky had been hiding from his coworkers in his office since their shift had begun.  By now, everyone had seen the article in the New York Times and he wasn't ready to deal with their well-meaning inquiries into his state of mind.  He was a wreck and all they had to do was look at him to know it.  He'd hoped that YN would have seen the article and called him once she learned the truth, but so far, he hadn't heard from her.

With no other way to communicate with her, he'd taken to stalking the Stark Industries social media accounts to read the posts that she'd made concerning their recent IPO.  From what he could tell, it seemed like it had been a success, so he hoped that she was able to find some happiness in the midst of all the chaos in her life right now.

He was grateful when the alert sounded letting them know they had a call.  He was up and out of his seat, heading through the common area toward the rigs when the dispatcher announced the address.  He stopped dead in his tracks as the color drained from his face. Everyone turned to stare at him, not understanding his concern.

"An explosion at 789 Broadway?" he asked.  "Did I hear that correctly?"

"Yeah, Buck," Steve said as he rushed through the door to put on his turnout gear.  "Let's go."

Shaking his head, he ran through the doors to where his turnout gear was waiting for him by Squad 3's rig.  "789 Broadway is Stark Industries."

Everyone gave him a worried glance as they continued to suit up for the call.  They all knew that this wasn't going to be a normal call.

As Clint drove the rig toward Stark Industries, he shot a nervous glance toward his Lieutenant.  "Barnes, are you going to be okay to handle this?"

"We have a job to do, Barton," Bucky said as he stared straight ahead, looking for signs of smoke in the night sky.  "I pray to God that she's okay – that they're all okay – but at the end of the day, we'll do what we've been trained to do and hope for the best."

By the time all of Firehouse 51 rolled up to the scene, there was a huge crowd of people being herded back by a couple of uniformed officers.  Bucky jumped down from the cab of the rig and made his way to the officer that seemed to be in charge.

"What's the situation?"

"Multiple 911 calls describing an explosion," the officer reported.  "Most of the people got out and we've got them just on the other side of the tape waiting for medical assistance."

Bucky motioned for Wanda and Vis and told them where the victims were before turning back to the police officer.  "Has the bomb squad been called in?"

The officer turned her head and briefly spoke into the radio clipped to her shoulder.  "Dispatch, this is Officer Burgess requesting an ETA on the bomb squad.  We have Fire and Rescue on scene waiting for the okay to enter the building."

"Officer Burgess," the dispatcher said through the radio.  "Bomb Squad is less than five minutes out.  Fire and Rescue has not been cleared to enter the building, I repeat, Fire and Rescue needs to stand down and wait for clearance before entering the building."

The officer looked at Bucky to make sure he'd heard the order and he gave her a nod before turning back to the Fire crew.

"The Bomb Squad is en route and we've been ordered to await their arrival," he told them.  "There's a group of people that made it out on the other side of the tape.  If it's alright with you guys, I'm going to go and check on YN."

"Go," Steve said.  "It'll be awhile before we're cleared to enter."

Bucky jogged over to where Wanda and Vis were treating some of the more injured people.  He scanned the crowd, looking for YN, getting more worried with each unfamiliar face he saw.  Spotting Tony, he ducked under the tape and made his way over to him.  He was relieved to see Pepper, Daisy, May, and Peter all huddled around him – at least they had made it out safely.

"Where's YN?" he asked.

Tony took a look around at the crowd of injured people.  "Everyone is here but her, Bucky.  The last I saw her, she was in her office."

Bucky's gaze shot to her office on the third floor as a feeling of dread settled over him.  He started for the building, but stopped when he felt Tony's hand on his arm.

"She knows the truth," Tony told him.  "I showed her the article in the Times just before the bomb went off.  I owe you an apology."

"We'll worry about that later," Bucky said turning back to the building.  "Right now I need to get in there and make sure she's okay."

Steve saw Bucky heading toward the building and ran over to stop him.  "Bucky, you can't go in there.  We have orders."

"YN's still in there, Steve," Bucky told him as he shook off his friend's grasp.  "I have to go in and get her."

"I know how hard this is for you, man, but we have to follow protocol."

"Screw protocol, Steve.  YN may be bleeding to death up there and I'm going in whether you like it or not."

Their argument was interrupted when another officer appeared from behind the building, an injured man leaning heavily on his shoulder.  "I need a medic right now."

Wanda ran over to help the officer with the half-burnt man as Tony ducked under the tape to follow her.

"Where did you find this man?" Tony demanded.

"He was laying unconscious in the alley behind the building," the officer told him.  "Why, do you know him?"

"That's Aldrich Killian, the founder and CEO of A.I.M.," Tony explained.  "He's been trying for months to sabotage Stark Industries in the media.  If he's here, he's involved with this somehow."

The officer's attitude quickly changed once he realized what the situation was.  Vis had gone back to the ambulance for the stretcher and as he and Wanda lifted the semi-conscious man onto it, the officer began to ask a few questions.

"Mr. Killian, are you responsible for setting off the bomb here tonight?"

Killian opened one eye and gave Tony an evil glare.  "I was hoping Stark wouldn't have survived, but I see his luck hasn't run out just yet."

"Sir, are there any more explosives in the building?" the officer asked as Wanda and Vis began rolling the stretcher toward the ambulance.

"The second one blew up in my face," Killian said as he began to cough.  "That one should have finished off everyone inside, but I made a mistake."

Bucky and Steve had been standing by, listening to the entire conversation and when Bucky heard Killian's last remark, he knew what he had to do.

"You heard him Steve," Bucky said as he started toward the entrance.  "He only had two bombs and they've both gone off.  I have to go get to YN."

"I'm coming with you," Steve said.

"Till the end of the line," Bucky said with a smile as his best friend joined him the smoke filled building.

"Till the end of the line," Steve repeated as he pulled on his mask and headed toward the staircase.

Steve followed Bucky's lead since his friend was familiar with the layout. There were a few fires once they exited the stairwell, but they were mostly toward the back of the building where the first bomb had gone off. Debris continually blocked their way, so it was slow going as they carefully made their way around over-turned desks and chunks of ceiling tiles.

For some odd reason, Bucky's mind went back to the first day he'd ever met YN.

_"So, tell me how you two met," May insisted._

_YN had started to fill out the application, and he was captivated by the way she bit the corner of her lip as she concentrated. May's comment drew him back to the present and his eyes met YN's as panic set in. He saw her glance down at his shirt, and he knew exactly what she was going to say._

_"My building was on fire."_

_"She was trapped on the top floor and I had to carry her down the stairs," he said with a smile toward YN as he continued the convincing lie she'd just told._

Bucky was brought back to the present when he finally made it back to YN's office. He called out for her, but she didn't respond. With a feeling of dread, he hoped that he'd get a chance to finish the story they'd told so long ago. He and Steve split up as they began to search the room. Steve concentrated on the sitting area near the door while Bucky climbed over a pile of debris as he moved toward her desk.

As he rounded the desk, he cried out her name when he saw her slumped unconscious on the floor. Bending down, he ripped off his glove and felt for a pulse, saying a prayer of thanks when he felt the slow beat beneath his fingers. He put his glove back on and carefully lifted her into his arms.

Calling out to Steve, Bucky waited for his friend to come closer so he could pass her over to Steve instead of trying to carry her and scale the mound of debris at the same time. Once he'd made it back over, he took her from Steve again as they headed back toward the stairwell.

As Bucky hurried down the stairs, YN's eyes began to flutter. "Hey, doll, I've got you," he told her. "You're going to be just fine."

"Bucky?" she asked, starting to cough. "I was coming to see you. I saw the article, and oh, Bucky, I'm so sorry. I left you alone with that woman and you almost died."

"Shh, sweetie," he said as Steve held the door to the lobby open for him. "You have nothing to be sorry about, I should have told you what was going on."

"Can you ever forgive me?"

_"When we got outside, I asked him how I could ever thank him," YN said with a smile so loving that he was almost convinced it was real._

_He conjured up every ounce of charm in his body as he lightly ran a finger down the side of her cheek. "I told her the only thanks I needed was a chance to take her out for dinner."_

A paramedic rushed over to them with a stretcher and Bucky laid YN down. Pulling off his mask, he grabbed her hand and smiled down at her. This time, there was no need for him to act, and if he was being honest with himself, he hadn't really been acting all those months ago. There was something poetic about them ending up like this today, so he decided to just go with it and finish out the story. "Tell you what, doll, let me take you out to dinner and all will be forgotten."

"It's a date," she said as the paramedic began to wheel her back toward the ambulance.

"Lt. Barnes."

Bucky turned around to find Chief Coulson glaring down at him.  "Chief, I know what you're going to say. . ."

"How stupid can you be?" Coulson asked.  "Running into a building that hadn't been cleared by the bomb squad.  I should have your badge for that blatant disregard for protocol."

Bucky gave Coulson a disbelieving look.  "Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing if it'd been Melinda up there."

"And that's the reason why we're going to pretend this never happened.  You and Rogers will be on latrine duty for the rest of this month as punishment for your actions, but it'll stay in-house."

"I can live with that," Bucky said turning to Steve with a chagrined look.

"Since all of the civilians are accounted for, I'm releasing Squad," Coulson said.  "Truck 81 will stay and contain the fire, but I figured you'd want to make a trip to the hospital and check on your girl."

"Thanks, Chief," Bucky said, "but I think Squad will stay and assist Truck 81.  YN's in good hands and she'll mostly likely be sleeping all night.  I'll run by in the morning after shift and check on her."

Coulson slapped Bucky on the back and nodded his head, moving on to talk to the Bomb Squad. 

"Are you sure about that?" Steve asked.  "Coulson just gave you the okay to spend the night at the hospital with YN, and you're choosing to stay here."

Bucky gestured toward the crowd of Stark Industries employees.  "She's going to be overwhelmed with visitors tonight.  I'd rather wait until the morning when I can hopefully bring her home with me.  We have a lot to talk about it, and I'd rather not do it with an audience."

Steve nodded his understanding.  "Good point.  Can't say I blame you for wanting to have some privacy for that conversation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 24 of this story! Did you like how this story came full circle there at the end? I thought it was a nice way to bring them back together. How do you think their conversation will go in the morning? Do you think they'll finally admit their feelings for one another? I look forward to your comments!_


	26. Part 25

YN'd had a steady stream of visitors since she'd been admitted. Tony and Pepper had come by to check on her, as well as Daisy and Lincoln, and May and Peter. She'd hoped to see Bucky, but she knew he would be busy most of the night dealing with what was left of Stark Industries. Once all of her visitors had left, she'd finally let the nurse give her some pain killers and she'd quickly fallen asleep.

When she awoke the next morning, she'd been surprised to find Bucky sitting beside her bed, his head resting on the mattress beside her hip. Reaching over, she ran her hands through his still-damp hair and knew he'd come straight over from work.

She was content to let him sleep – the dark shadows under his eyes evidence of the sleepless nights he'd had since his encounter with Dot. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she finally realized that she could have lost him forever if things had turned out differently. Then she thought about her near-death experience last night and her sadness turned to anger. Cursing herself for not answering his texts, she offered up a silent prayer of thanks that they'd each been granted a second chance to make things right.

A doctor came in and abruptly pulled back the curtain, causing Bucky to wake up. When he saw YN's teary eyes, he immediately became concerned, but he was forced to wait until the doctor had finished his examination to speak to her. The doctor looked over her chart and listened to her heart and lungs for a moment before telling them that he was discharging her.

Once he was gone, they both looked at each other hesitantly, not sure who should speak first.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "The article didn't say much about the attack, only that Dot was being charged with assault with a deadly weapon."

"I'm fine," he told her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "She came at me with a knife, grazed my stomach, but it wasn't even deep enough to need stitches. What about you, how are you feeling?"

"My throat is pretty sore, and my ears are still ringing a bit," she told him. "Tony told me that Aldrich Killian tried to blow up the building last night, but that the second bomb blew up in his face."

"I checked on his status before I came to see you and he's in critical condition. They're not sure he's going to make it."

"It's amazing what some people will stoop to, all because of jealousy."

"I should have told you about Dot," Bucky said, looking down at the edge of the sheet he was currently worrying between his fingers.

"The article said that she'd been stalking you. Was that why you'd become so distant and secretive?"

"Yes and no," he said, finally looking up to meet her eye. "I pulled away initially because I wasn't sure how you felt about me and I knew I was starting to fall for you. Dot had started texting around Valentine's Day and when she started showing up at the firehouse, it all started to snowball from there. She was constantly calling and texting, and showing up at unannounced. I wasn't too worried at first, but then she found out about you – about us living together. That's when she started to become unhinged."

"Why didn't you call the police when you realized how bad things had gotten?"

"I guess I thought I could take care of it myself. I tried talking to her, tried to explain that I wasn't in love with her anymore, but she just couldn't accept it. I'd made up my mind after Jemma's wedding that I was going to file a restraining order against her, but by then it was too late. I'm just sorry you had to find out about this whole mess from her. I know she twisted things around to make you think she and I were back together, but I swear, nothing ever happened between me and her."

"I believe you, Bucky," she said as she laid a hand against his cheek. "I think deep down I always knew that you weren't that kind of guy, but I was too caught up in my own heartache to think clearly. I'm just glad that you're safe and she's being forced to get the help she so desperately needs."

"So, where does that leave us?" he asked, a hopeful look in his eye.

"I don't know about you, but I want a chance to see if what we have is real."

A relieved smile came over Bucky's face as he leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Doll, you have no idea how badly I wanted to hear you say that."

Their conversation was interrupted as the nurse came in to remove her IV and give her a list of discharge instructions. Within thirty minutes, YN was released to go home, and she was both relieved and a little nervous to be heading back to the brownstone with Bucky.

 

The drive home was spent in comfortable silence and YN realized how much she'd missed just being with Bucky. There was something about being in his presence that gave her a sense of peace.

He helped her down from the cab of the truck, pausing to kiss her again. Now that he had the freedom to kiss her whenever he wanted, he wasn't about to pass up any opportunity to have her in his arms.

"Aw, that's so sweet."

Bucky and YN broke away from one another to find May walking down the steps of her brownstone. They were both a little puzzled at her comment, each of them looking to the other in confusion.

"So does this mean you two are officially a couple now?" May asked with a mischievous grin.

"What are you talking about, May?" YN asked, scared she already knew the answer.

"Pfft," she snorted with a wave of her hand. "Did you two really think you had me fooled this whole time?"

Bucky closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief before looking back to May. "How long have you known?"

"How long?" May asked with a smirk. "Since the day I met you."

"Wait a second, you've known this whole time," YN exclaimed. "May. I can't believe you let me move in with a perfect stranger. What if he'd been a serial killer?"

"I did a background check on both of you," she explained as she leaned against the stair railing looking proud of herself. "You two were clean as whistles and I saw the sparks flying between you. I knew if I didn't do something, you would never see one another again and I just couldn't let that happen. I know love at first sight when I see it."

Bucky looked down at YN, both of them shaking their heads as they realized what May had actually done.

"I've got to admit," May continued, "you two pulled out all of the stops to make me believe you were an actual couple. Those photos you have in the living room were a work of pure genius. I don't know how you pulled it off, but I was definitely impressed."

"I'm completely dumbfounded right now," Bucky said, still trying to wrap his mind around this new information.

"I know I should feel guilty," May admitted, "especially with what happened this week with your ex-fiancée, but I ended up meeting James, and I can't be sorry about that."

"I know I should be mad at you, but you're right," YN told May before turning back to Bucky. "I probably wouldn't have ever seen Bucky again, and I would have missed out on the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Bucky leaned over and gave her a kiss on her temple. "I feel the same way, doll."

"Well, I know you two are probably exhausted from everything that's happened this week – a wedding and two attempted murders." May gave them a smile as her eyebrows shot up. "If you two can make it through all of that, I have no doubt you'll make it through anything."

They said their goodbyes and Bucky helped YN up the stairs into the brownstone. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well, when I left the wedding," she said with a sultry look, "I was heading for your bed. Whaddaya say we pretend this week never happen and pick up where we left off?"

"I like the way you think," he said as he swept her up in his arms and started up the stairs.

 

_~The End. . . ?~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for reading Part 25 of this story!  What did you think of the ending?  Were you surprised that May had known all along and was secretly scheming to get them together?  What do you think will happen next with them?  Thank you for sticking with me for the past 5 1/2 months!  I look forward to your comments!_


	27. Epilogue

Heat.

It was the only thing her foggy consciousness could comprehend as she struggled to bring herself out of the land of sleep. It was a slow burning sensation that started in the core of her being and threatened engulf her if it wasn't soon quenched. YN felt as though she was going to burst into flames as sparks of desire coursed through her veins. She'd thought she would have grown used to this feeling, but even after ten months, the light caress of his fingers dancing across her skin in the early morning hours had the same effect as it had that very first time.

With her brain finally starting to function again, she thought to herself that the feel of his lips against her fevered flesh was better than any alarm clock she'd ever owned. She didn't have the pleasure of waking up beside him every morning, so she cherished mornings like this one even more.

He could tell the instant that she'd awoken, not from the sensual moans that rose up from within her – those were present even in a state of sleep – but from the way she arched her body to meet his hands and mouth. She was just as greedy for him to touch her as he was to trace every dip and curve of her luscious body.

When she'd taken all that she could handle, his lips began the slow, arduous journey from the small of her back to the nape of her neck. His fingers were following the same path, only on the opposite side of her body.

With his hand along her jaw, he tilted her head so that he could finally capture her lips with his. As he teased and nipped at her bottom lip, she let out a whimpered cry.

"Bucky."

That was it.

That was all it took to drive him over the edge. Just the sound of his name on her lips. He could hear her say his name from now until the end of time, and he'd never grow tired of the sound. Rolling to his back, she twisted her body so that she was now poised above him. Her eyes were full of need – need for him, and him alone.

She leaned down and fitted her lips to his in a fiery kiss that had his nerve endings screaming in ecstasy. The woman definitely knew how to kiss, and she knew exactly how to use her lips, teeth, and tongue to drive him completely crazy.

The two them made love as the sky above them turned from the inky blackness of dark to a myriad of pinks, oranges, and yellows. They weren't completely oblivious to the dawn, as the light from the rising sun filtered in through the skylight, highlighting one another's features as they tumbled over the edge together.

Collapsing in an exhausted heap with her head resting on his chest, he began to trace small circles along her back as they waited for their racing hearts to return to a sensible rhythm so they could catch their breath. Bucky could feel the corners of her mouth tilt up in a satisfied smile as she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"Happy Valentine's Day, doll," he whispered when he was sure he had enough breath to form the words.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Bucky," she replied as her fingers danced across his abdomen, causing the muscles to jump and twitch from the slightly ticklish caress.

"Stop that," he warned.

"Or what?" she asked, her face tilting so she could meet his eyes.

"I have other plans for this morning," he told her as he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"You're the one who's always telling me that life isn't supposed to be lived on such a tight schedule," she reminded him as she playfully bit his bottom lip.

His mouth fell open in shock. "How dare you use my own words against me, just so you can get la. . ."

Seizing the opportunity, she framed his face with her hands, and kissed him, effectively shutting him up. When she felt, more than heard, the low, guttural growl rise up from his chest, she knew what was coming next. In one swift movement, he had her flipped onto her back as he took control of the kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she buried her hands in those dark, chestnut strands and pulled him closer to her.

Without warning, he abruptly ended the kiss and rose from the bed. She didn't have time to protest before he grabbed her wrists and pulled her up with him.

"Food or a shower?" he asked.

She considered his words for a moment before she dramatically began to pout. "Why do I have to choose? Why can't we eat in the shower?"

He shook his head and laughed at her before leaning over and kissing her forehead. "If we shower first, then we won't have to walk back up all those stairs after breakfast."

Thinking about it for a second, she nodded her head and pulled him toward the bathroom.

She'd thought she would hate sharing this amazing space with Bucky after he'd moved his belongings from the second floor bedroom into hers, but she found that she enjoyed seeing his things commingled with hers on the sink.

He hated to disappoint her, but he really did have big plans for this Valentine's Day, and if he let her distract him with shower sex, they'd never get where they needed to be on time. If he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that he was a bit disappointed, too, but he kept reminding himself to stay focused on the end game.

"You're no fun," she complained as she playfully smacked his bare backside with a wet towel.

"Ow," he complained as he rubbed the injured flesh. "How 'bout I make it up to you by cooking you breakfast?"

She gave him a wary look. "Keep talking."

He sauntered over to her and trailed a finger down her arm as he whispered in her ear. "Blueberry waffles."

She closed her eyes and let out a moan. "Ok, you're forgiven."

"Thank you," he said as he gave her a quick kiss.

She gave him a wink as she headed back to the walk-in closet to grab some clothes for the day. Calling out to him, she asked, "What do I need to wear today? Something casual, or fancy?"

He peeked his head around the corner and gave her a shrug. "Dressy casual?"

Rolling her eyes at him she picked out a pair of skinny jeans to pair with a scarf and sweater, and her knee high boots. She decided she could wear her nice, long wool coat to dress it up a bit.

Bucky had made it a habit to cook her dinner most evenings, but breakfast was normally her meal to prepare, so she was curious to see how he would fare this morning. Propping her elbows on the island, she leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands as she watched him plug in the waffle maker and begin mixing the batter.

"I think these are better than mine," she admitted after she took her first bite. "What did you do differently?"

"Nothing," he mumbled around a bite of waffle. "It's your recipe."

"Hmm, I guess it just tastes different since I didn't have to make them."

"I can make breakfast every now and then, doll," Bucky told her as he gave her a sideways glance.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I like making you breakfast. It's our thing – I make breakfast and you cook me dinner when you're off work."

"Doesn't hurt to mix it up a bit," he told her as he leaned over for a kiss.

"Maybe not," she agreed as she went back to eating.

 

* * *

 

"Where to first?" she asked as he helped her into her coat at the front door.

"It's a surprise."

"You're not going to tell me anything about today?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nope," he said as he opened the front door and motioned for her to go first.

"Bucky Barnes. . ." she began, but the words died on her lips when she spotted the sleek, black Corvette sitting at the curb.

"Your chariot awaits," he whispered in her ear.

"Nat must really love you to let you keep borrowing her car."

Bucky let out a laugh as he held open the door for her and helped her into the low-slung car. Walking around the hood, he slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. The car let out a low growl as the motor turned over and Bucky would've been lying to himself if he didn't admit that he loved the feel of the gear shifter in his hands as the powerful car roared to life beneath his fingers.

YN gave up on trying to get any hints out of Bucky, so instead she focused on the scenery around her. They'd had a light snowfall the day before, and although the streets had turned black with the slushy remnants of the powdery flakes, the trees remained white with fluffy clumps of snow still stuck to their branches.

As Bucky slowed to make a turn, she was brought out of her thoughts. She looked around at her surroundings and frowned when she realized that he'd pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"What are we doing here? Is someone sick?"

"No," he said as he backed the car into a space that faced the Emergency Room. "Let's just say that today is going to be a walk down memory lane."

"And you have fond memories of being in the hospital?" she asked, her eyebrows raised in disbelief.

He let out a short laugh before he began to explain. "Amazingly enough, yeah. Do you remember when I had that accident on a fire call right before Valentine's Day last year?"

YN took a deep breath as she remembered the feeling of dread that had come over her when she'd gotten the call from Steve. "Of course I do, but why is that a good memory for you? You could have been killed that day."

"I know," he said as he grabbed her hand, "but the thing I remember the most is that you came. Even though we were still just roommates, and barely even friends, you came. You took me home that weekend and helped to take care of me until I got better. I think that's when I fell in love with you. I may not have been ready to admit then, but knowing that you would be there for me when I needed you the most told me everything I needed to know about you."

"Oh, Bucky," she said as her eyes began to fill with tears. "I was so scared that day. I knew when I got that call from Steve that I was in danger of losing my heart to you as well."

"Don't cry, doll," he said as he kissed away the tears escaping the corners of her eyes. "It didn't seem like it at the time, but that accident was one of the best things that ever happened to me."

"It's funny how time and perspective can change your perception of an event."

He gave her a kiss before leaning back into his seat and putting the car back into gear. "Yeah. And thankfully, we were able to find our way back to each other so we can have that perspective now."

She gave him a smile and rubbed her hand down his arm. She didn't know where else he planned to take her today, but now that she knew what his intentions were, she couldn't wait to see what other memories he would share with her.

 

* * *

 

 

When he pulled up to the American Museum of Natural History, she wasn't the least bit shocked. She fondly remembered spending his birthday with him here last year, so it was no wonder that this would be on his tour today.

"They have a new space exhibition," he whispered as they walked up the stairs the entrance. "And some new additions to the Egypt display."

A grin spread across her face as he held the door open for her. "Lead the way."

They spent the rest of the morning in the Hayden Planetarium, and she enjoyed the look of pure joy on Bucky's face more than she did the show. He was such a space nerd, but she loved that about him.

They'd eventually wandered back to the Café on One for lunch, and YN couldn't help the feeling of déjà vu that settled over her as they ordered the same meals and sat at the same table as before. "I remember how down in the dumps you were that day because you thought no one had remembered your birthday."

He gave her a chastising look. "Put yourself in my shoes and tell me you wouldn't be disappointed."

"We had so much fun that day, though," she reminded him with a wink.

"We did," he admitted. "I remember being so nervous to ask you to come here with me that day. And then I grabbed your hand after lunch – I thought for sure you'd pull away from me and tell me that I was reading too much into the situation."

She smiled as she remembered how she'd felt when he'd nonchalantly grabbed her hand. "My feelings for you were so conflicted that day. I was scared that I was reading too much into the situation."

He started to laugh. "How did we ever get here? I mean, the two of us were so scared to admit that we had started to develop feelings for one another. I'm shocked we're still not living as roommates."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "If I remember correctly, I got a little drunk at Jemma's wedding, and dragged you back to my hotel room to take advantage of you."

"See," he said with a shake of his head. "I remember that completely different. I was the one that dragged you back to the room to take advantage of you."

Throwing her head back, she began to laugh as he desperately tried not to join in. Giving up, that amazing smile she loved so much spread across his face.

"I guess it doesn't matter who drug whom," she said.

"No," he agreed. "I'm just sorry it took us so long."

He gave her an odd look and started playing with the corners of his napkin. She'd become an expert in reading him over the past year, and she knew that was debating with himself on saying something he wasn't sure he should say. Leaning back in her chair, she knew if she waited long enough, he'd eventually cave and tell her what was on his mind. Sure enough, after a few moments he began to speak again.

"I almost told you that day," he said, his gaze darting up to gauge her reaction.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Told me what?"

"That I was in love with you."

She inhaled sharply. "Why didn't you? Was it the text message you got while we eating lunch?"

He shook his head, deliberately forcing thoughts of her from his mind. "No, it was after we left the museum. We were walking up the stairs to the brownstone and I told you that there was something I'd wanted to talk to you about . . ."

"I remember that," YN said as the memory came rushing back to her. "But we were interrupted by all of our friends yelling 'surprise.' Oh, Bucky, I didn't know. . ."

"It's ok," he said, interrupting her apology. "I should have just told you later that night when you gave me the watch, but by then I'd convinced myself that you'd only spent the day with me so Steve and the guys could set up the surprise party."

YN felt horrible that he'd kept this locked away for so long, and that her own insecurities had led him to believe that she didn't care about him. Maybe if she'd been honest with him, they wouldn't have gone through all that pain and suffering after Jemma's wedding. He may have lied to her about his ex, but she hadn't really given him a reason to trust her, either. In the end, they were both to blame.

"Since it's confession time," she teased, trying to lighten the mood," I almost dragged you to bed with me that night."

"What?" he all but yelled, his eyes going wide as he quickly looked around the room to see if anyone was staring at them. "Why didn't you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess for the same reasons you chickened out on telling me that you'd fallen in love with me – I was scared. It wasn't just rejection that had me worried, though. By that time, we'd become friends, and I was willing to push down my feelings for you so that we could keep that."

"To be honest," he said as his eyes got serious. "I think that's my favorite thing about our relationship. Sure, we had that instant attraction to one another, but I'm glad we didn't just start sleeping together right off the bat. . ."

"If I remember correctly," she said as her gaze narrowed, "that was your suggestion to me the first day we met."

Pursing his lips together to try to hide his smile, he said, "And I'm so glad you were the voice of reason that day. I love that we got to be friends first – that we got to know each other the way we did. Don't you dare tell Steve, but you're my best friend, YN."

His words had tears threatening to spill from her eyes again. How had she been so lucky to find him? Fate must have been smiling down on her the day she'd literally fell into his arms. Looking back on the last year, and all the ups and downs they'd faced, she realized that the only reason they made it through was because they had a bond that wasn't just physical – they'd connected on a deeper level in those months leading up to Jemma's wedding, and that bond was what had gotten them through to the other side. That bond was the reason they were sitting here today reminiscing about their past.

"Promise not to tell Jemma and Daisy?" she asked with a grin. "You're my best friend, too."

The conversation shifted to more lighthearted topics as they finished their lunch. She wasn't at all surprised when he reached for her hand as they walked toward the Egypt exhibition. Taking it, she leaned into his shoulder and let him lead her through the museum.

 

* * *

 

 

She'd thought they would head home after the museum, but it seemed like Bucky still had more planned for the day. The farmer's market was closed by the time he pulled up to the parking lot, but she was content to sit in the car and learn more about how he remembered the events that had led them to where they were today.

"I have a question that I've been dying to ask you since we took all those pictures that day," she admitted as she twisted in her seat to look at him.

"Really?" he asked, shocked that she hadn't spoken up about this sooner.

"That day," she began, "in almost every picture we took, you were looking at me instead of the camera. Why?"

"C'mon, doll," he said with a wry grin. "You already know the answer to that question."

"I want to hear you say it," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He leaned over and cupped her face in his hand. "You were so beautiful, I couldn't tear my eyes away from you. I knew if you called me on it, I could just claim I'd done it for effect, but I was already so smitten with you, I didn't care."

She closed the distance between them and kissed him.

 

* * *

 

 

They'd ended up spending a little longer in the parking lot of the farmer's market than Bucky had originally planned, but by the time their impromptu make-out session ended, they'd worked up an appetite for the next part of his plan. With a promise to pick up where they'd left off later that night, he began driving through the streets of Brooklyn again. Glancing over at her, he could tell when she realized where he was going by the huge smile on her face.

"I was hoping we were going to come back for Thai tonight," she said with a look of pure delight on her face.

"Well," he said, drawing out the word. "This was technically our first date, and it was on Valentine's Day, so it was only fitting that we come back here."

"You know," she said as she twined her arm though his and walked with him along the sidewalk to the restaurant, "this is where I was going to make you take me if the Packers had won the Divisional Championship last year."

He glanced up to the sky for a brief moment and muttered, "Forgive me." Looking back at her he grimaced as he said, "I've never wanted my Giants to lose so badly in my life."

"You're kidding," she said as she started laughing.

"I wanted any excuse to take you out on a date, and it really looked like the Packers had that game in the bag."

"Thanks, Aaron Rodgers," she said in frustration. "The one time I need you to pull through with a Hail Mary, and you let me down."

He gave her a nudge with his shoulder. "I think we had a good time when we finally did go out for dinner."

Bucky opened the door for her and they made their way to a table in the corner. It was few moments before they were able to continue talking as the server greeted them and took their drink order.

"We did have a lot of fun that night," she remarked when they were finally alone again. "I remember that crazy game you made up in the bookstore. . ."

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the sheepish look come over his face. "Don't tell me we're doing that again?"

He gave her one of his heart-stopping smiles. "I may have a little bookstore game planned for after dinner, but this one will be different from last year."

"This year I'm going to win," she told him as she cocked an eyebrow in his direction.

"I have a feeling you just might," he said with a sly grin on his face.

The food was just as good as she'd remembered, but by the time they were finished she was so full she didn't think she could eat another thing. "I'm not sure I'll be up for ice cream tonight."

"That's okay," he said with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. "I had a different type of dessert planned for later."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes before saying, "That reminds me. This little walk down memory lane doesn't include a stop at the Inn at Fox Hollow? Not that I'd be complaining, but we both have to go to work tomorrow morning, and it's a pretty long drive out there."

Bucky let out a sigh as he reached into the inside pocket of his coat. "I was going to save this for later, but since you mentioned it. . ."

YN took the envelope he handed her and flipped it over to look at the logo etched on the front. A huge smile spread across her face as she opened the pamphlet inside to reveal the booking confirmation for the upcoming weekend.

"I'm glad you got the day off of work today to spend with me, but I thought you deserved more than just a trip to the museum and dinner out for Valentine's Day."

"Oh, Bucky," she said as she leaned over to give him a kiss. "This is absolutely perfect. Thank you so much."

"Is that all?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "You didn't get me anything for Valentine's Day."

A devious smile lifted the corners of her lips as she took a sip of her wine. "Your present will be waiting for you once we get home tonight."

"Didn't I already open that gift this morning?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh, you'll be getting a repeat of this morning, as well," she said, "but I actually bought you something."

"I can't wait," he said as he tried to think of what she might have gotten him.

"You sure you don't want to skip the bookstore and head on home?" she asked as he paid the bill.

His phone chirped with an incoming message, so he checked it before he answered her. "That was Peter. . ."

"Peter from next door?" she asked, interrupting him.

"Yeah," he said as he typed out a quick reply. "He's letting me know that he just finished setting up the game at the bookstore."

"He's been busy today," she said with a grimace.

"He offered to help," Bucky told her. "He said that his aunt and Rhodey had plans tonight, and Tony was taking Pepper out for dinner so he couldn't hang out at the office after school."

"Well, that was nice of him."

"Wasn't it?" Bucky asked as he led her out of the restaurant and down the street to the bookstore.

"So, how does this game work?" she asked as he held open the door for her.

"It's simple," he said as he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. "On this sheet of paper is a quote from a book. Once you find the book the quote comes from, you'll find the next quote. You keep going until you get to the end."

"So, it's basically a scavenger hunt and I'm deciphering each clue to get to the next?"

"Exactly."

"What's at the end?" she asked as she took the slip of paper from him.

"You'll find out once you find all of the clues," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What if I don't know what book the quote comes from?"

"The goal of the game is for you to win, so I'll let you Google them," he told her, "but they're all from your favorite books, so you shouldn't have any trouble."

"My favorite books?" she asked. "How do you know what my favorite books are?"

"They're on the bookshelves in living room."

"Did you have Peter bring my own books here?" she asked as she looked around the room frantically.

"Don't have a heart attack," he said, taking her shoulders and turning her around to face him. "I bought a copy of each of them and then taped the clues on the inside cover. Peter brought them all back tonight and hid them around the store."

"I think it's pretty lame," the girl at the counter said as she leaned on her elbows and gave them a bored look.

"You're in on this, too?" she asked the girl as she read the name on her badge. "Michelle?"

"Yeah," she said, still sounding bored. "The old guy asked if it was ok, and I was like, 'I don't care as long as you buy the books.' The guy that came back tonight seemed pretty cool, though. What'd you say his name was, Peter?"

YN tried not to laugh as Bucky's face fell when Michelle called him old, so she focused on the last question she'd asked. "Yes, his name is Peter, and he's our neighbor. If you want, I can tell him to stop by again sometime."

"If you want," Michelle said, still sounding bored with the whole interaction.

"Ok, then," YN said as she turned back to Bucky. "I guess I have some clues to find."

Finally getting over the insult to his pride, he leaned over and gave YN one last kiss before she began. "Since I don't know where Peter hid them, I can help you find them if you want."

She looked around at the overcrowded shop and nodded her head in agreement. "Deal, but I need to figure out the book before you begin looking."

Now that they had a plan, she opened the paper and read the first clue aloud. " _ **M** y name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die_." She gave Bucky a disbelieving look. "That's easy – _The Princess Bride_ by William Goldman."

 It only took her and Bucky a few minutes to find the book. Opening the cover, she read the second clue. " _ **A** ll that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renenwed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king."_

Giving Bucky a look she shook her head. "These are too easy. _The Fellowship of the Ring_ by J.R.R. Tolkien"

Finding the book, she read the third clue. " _ **R** emember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker."_

Biting her lip, she looked up at the ceiling as she tried to remember where she'd read that line. Realization finally dawning, she said, " _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker"

"You're doing better than I'd thought you would," Bucky said as they scoured the stacks of books for the copy of Dracula. "Got it," Bucky announced when he'd found it toward the back of the shop.

YN took the book from him and read the fourth clue. " _ **R** eserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope." She let out a deep sigh as she tried to recognize the quote_. "I think it's _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald."

"You would be right," Bucky said as he began to search the shop for the book.

Finding it first, YN read the next clue. " _ **Y** ou should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how._"

Seizing the opportunity, Bucky leaned in for a kiss, earning him a groan from Michelle who'd been trying to pretend she wasn't watching them. "I happen to agree with Margaret Mitchell on that."

"I'll never get tired of kissing you," she said as she pulled away, "but right now, I need to find a copy of _Gone with the Wind_."

Bucky shook his head as he walked back to where he'd seen that book a few minutes ago. Handing it to YN she gave him a disapproving look.

"That's cheating," she said as she opened the cover. "You already know which books to look for. Go stand over there with Michelle, so I can finish the game by myself."

"That's not fair," he said. "I was just trying to help."

Shooing him away, she read the next quote. " _ **M** ost people are nice when you finally see them_." YN thought for a moment, but she couldn't place the quote.

"You can use Google if you want," Bucky reminded her as he leaned against the counter with Michelle.

Giving up, she pulled her phone from her bag and typed the quote into the search engine. " _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , by Harper Lee. I should've known that one."

Since she was searching alone, it took her a little longer to find the book buried between two larger books. Pulling it from the stack, she opened the cover and read the next clue. " _ **E** ven the darkest night will end and the sun will rise_."

She held a hand over her heart as she named the book and author. " _Les Misérables_ , by Victor Hugo."

After a moment, she continued her search. Finally finding the book, she gave Bucky a quick smile and opened the cover. Her smile quickly faded as she looked at the piece of paper taped inside. "I don't understand – this just has a question mark on it. Where's the next clue?"

Bucky gave her a mysterious smile as he started walking toward her. "That's the last one."

"I still don't get it," she said as she turned the finally clue over in her hand to see if she'd missed something.

"Take a closer look at the clues, doll," he told her.

Giving him a frustrated look, she took the clues and walked over to the counter. Laying them all out before her, she began to carefully scrutinize each one. "I didn't notice it at first, but I think there's something different about the first letter in each clue. It looks like it's in bold type. Is it supposed to spell something?"

"Put them in the order you found them," Bucky suggested as he ran his hand through his hair and looked at the ground.

YN recognized his body language, but couldn't figure out why he'd be nervous right now – they were just playing a silly game. Shaking her head, she went back to the clues and tried to remember the order they'd been in.

" _ **M** y name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."_

_" **A** ll that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renenwed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king."_

_" **R** emember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker."_

_" **R** eserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope."_

_" **Y** ou should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how."_

_" **M** ost people are nice when you finally see them."_

_" **E** ven the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."_

She added the question mark to the end even though she'd already figured out what the message spelled. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she turned to look at Bucky. When she saw him on one knee with an open ring box in his hand, her hand flew to her mouth to muffle her gasp.

"YN YLN," he said as he watched the tears begin to swim in her eyes. "I should have told you I loved you from the first day I met you. I should tell you every second of the day how much you mean to me, and how happy I am to have you in my life. You are my best friend, and the only woman I want to wake up next to every morning for the rest of my life. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Yes," she managed to say as she tried not to start sobbing. "Yes, I'll marry you, Bucky."

He slipped the diamond ring onto her finger before he rose to his feet and pulled her into his arms. If it hadn't been for Michelle awkwardly clearing her throat, he wasn't sure how long he would have continued to kiss YN in the middle of the bookstore.

YN couldn't tear her gaze away from the sparkling diamond set in an eternity band of smaller baguette diamonds as Michelle bagged up all of the books Bucky had bought the previous day. Finally looking up when Bucky placed his hand on the small of her back, she gave him a huge smile as they headed back to the car.

The drive back to the brownstone was spent in comfortable silence as she began mentally planning the wedding. She wasn't sure which season he preferred, but it didn't really matter as long as she got to spend the rest of her life with him.

When her phone chirped, she jumped. Looking down at the screen, she remembered that she still hadn't given Bucky his present for Valentine's Day.

"Who's that?" he asked as he peeked over at his phone.

"It's Peter," she told him as she typed out a reply.

"Why is Peter texting you?"

She gave him a sly smile. "You weren't the only one he was helping out this evening. He just wanted to know when he should take your present over to the brownstone. I told him we were on our way home now, so it'll be waiting for you when we get there."

"What is it?" he asked, hoping to catch her off guard and getting her to slip up.

"Uh uh," she said. "Just because you gave me a sparkly ring doesn't mean I'm going to ruin my surprise."

He let out a huff and pulled up in front of their building. Anxious to see what she'd gotten him, he rushed to her door and quickly pulled it open.

All but running up the stairs, he fitted the key into the lock and held the door open for her. As he shut the door behind them, he noticed the large red box in the middle of the living room floor. "What is that?"

"That would be your present," she said proudly. "Go on, open it."

Bucky started toward the box, but drew up short when it moved. Looking over his shoulder at YN, he asked, "Is it supposed to be moving?"

"Just open it," she said as she struggled to contain her excitement.

Bucky kneeled on the floor and was just about to lift the lid when he heard a muffled sound coming from inside the box. "You didn't?"

"I hope you like him," she said as he lifted the lid and pulled out the German Shepard puppy from the box.

The puppy immediately began licking Bucky's face, causing him to break out laughing. Cradling the floppy-earred dog in his arms, he rose and walked back over to YN. "He's perfect, but how did you know I'd always wanted a German Shepard?"

She reached down to scratch the puppy behind the ear, causing him to wiggle in Bucky's arms. "Steve may have mentioned it before Christmas. I happened to find this guy in the shelter a few days ago, so Peter's been puppy-sitting for me. What do you want to name him?"

"I was thinking about Sarge."

YN looked down at the puppy and asked, "What do you think, Sarge? You like that name?"

The puppy let out a woof that had her and Bucky both laughing. "I think he likes it. Sarge it is."

Bucky put Sarge down on the floor and grabbed one of the squeaky toys from the box. YN took a seat on the couch and watched her new fiancé play with his new puppy. She couldn't have imagined a better day.

When the puppy finally collapsed in a heap at Bucky's feet, YN rose from the couch and picked him up. "I think it's time for Sarge to go to bed. He's already kennel trained, so I had Peter set up one in the man cave."

"You're not going to let him sleep with us?" Bucky asked, his face forming a pout.

"You realize how big this dog is going to get, don't you?" she asked as she started climbing the stairs. "And just in case you'd forgotten, you still owe me dessert tonight."

The pout disappeared from Bucky's face and was replaced with one of pure desire. "You're absolutely right. I did promise you we'd pick up where we left off at the farmer's market when we got home. I was momentarily distracted by the puppy, but it's all coming back to me know."

"It's understandable," she said as she laid the puppy in the kennel and shut the door. "He is pretty cute."

Bucky grabbed her hips and pulled her close to him. Lifting a hand to run down her face, he leaned in and lightly kissed her. She could feel the familiar heat begin to course through her veins as she buried her hands in his hair. When he lifted her into his arms, she willingly let herself be swept away. From the first moment she'd been wrapped in his arms, she'd felt safe and secure. She knew it didn't matter where life took them from here on out – as long as she was with him, she was home.

_~The End~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Happy Valentine’s Day!! I hope you enjoyed your surprise from me! I’ll be honest - I hadn’t planned on writing an Epilogue, but when I saw that Valentine’s Day fell on a Wednesday this year, it seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up on! For those of you who’ve been riding this rollercoaster of emotions with me for the past six months, this is for you! Did you like the day he planned out for her? I know you guys were constantly yelling at me to make them talk to one another, so I finally had them tell each other everything they’d been thinking throughout this whole story. I knew I wanted Bucky to propose to her in this part, but I also knew it had to be something out of the ordinary. Did you like the scavenger hunt? Did you pick up on the clues before she did? I thought it was pretty clever, myself! The hardest part was finding the book quotes that started with the letters I needed!! You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find quotes that start with the letter R! Did you like the present she bought him? Can’t you just see Bucky in the middle of the floor playing with a German Shepard puppy?? I look forward to your comments!_


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